


As Long As We Have Family

by Novachaser



Series: Family is Forever; Even for Us [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Betrayal, Blood, Burning, Car Accident, Choking, Impersonation, Language, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Physical Torture, Mentions of alcohol, Mentions of betrayal, Mentions of kidnapping, Rated M, Scene with slight alcohol, Very explicit violence, Violence, mentions of abuse, mentions of mental torture, scenes of slight mental torture, scenes of slight physical torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-04-26 04:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 66,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14394108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Novachaser/pseuds/Novachaser
Summary: He couldn’t remember. Who are these people following him? Why do they keep saying they know him? Why do they feel familiar?





	1. Prolouge

**I/II**

_He couldn’t remember. Who are these people following him? Why do they keep saying they know him? Why do they feel familiar?_

 

They were all in pain as they slowly awakened. Slowly looking around the room, Junmyeon noticed a few of them were missing. In this gloomy, cold, dark cell; they were imprisoned for their abilities. He couldn't understand. They never hurt anyone, and yet they were being treated like criminals. Junmyeon noticed a figure in front of their cage.

"W-Where are they?" Junmyeon asked quietly.

"I can't tell you that." The figure chuckled at them. Junmyeon wanted to hurt this man.

"You must find the missing few together, this game won't end until all twelve are reunited. You have a time span of 5 years. When your time is up, starting from the youngest, you will all forget your past life and each other." The figure spoke loud and clear. If the others weren't awake before, they are now.

"What are you talking about, what game?" From Junmyeon's side, Kris growled at the man.

"I wish you all good luck, do **not** disappoint me." From around the room, an odorless gas released from little capsules. The six of them started coughing, soon it was difficult to keep his eyes open. Junmyeon tried to stay awake, he noticed the man had opened the door to the cage and was standing in front of him.

"It begins with you." That was the last thing Junmyeon heard before he lost consciousness.  


	2. New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.

Junmyeon adjusted his tie and brushed down his suit. He has been teaching for about two years. The class, he taught as his first, were finally graduating today. It was a bittersweet moment in his life. Although he was only there for two years of their lives, he saw so much potential in all of his students. In his first year, the kids made it to state for choir, they got second place. Their senior year, they won first place.

Junmyeon was so proud of them, now he must wave goodbye as they move on. He knew they would do well in life. The new freshmen, however, Junmyeon knew he was going to have a hard time with them. They are very ambitious and energetic, which can be a great thing. However, they haven't really learned how to settle down. The junior high music teacher invites him down sometimes to meet the kids coming up to the high school. Junmyeon knew on the first day that he was going to have one heck of a time, but he couldn't wait for the challenge.

Looking around the small auditorium, all he could do was smile. There were pictures of the graduates on a slideshow above the stage. He left the room and headed to the staff room to get ready. The staff wore pitch black silk robs with stoles that have the color of the school where they got their degrees. His own stole had blue and gold on it, symbolizing the university where he received his master's degree. As he looked at the clock above him, he sighed.

Soon he would have to say goodbye to some amazing kids and start the next year with a smile. The ceremony starts with the kids walking in pairs to their seats, the principle then starts the announcements, and then the staff are brought in. As soon as the ceremony started the two hours seemed to fly by. It was over before he knew it. Soon enough he was taking pictures with his students one last time and he made it to the car. He loosened his tie slightly and chuckled. It was a little soon for him to be thinking about his lesson plans, but when has that ever stopped him.

He liked to think his attentiveness helped him get the job along with his professional manner and experience of course. As he started up his car, he put on his favorite playlist. This was not the time to be sad, it's time to look to the future with a smile. After a while of driving, he made it to the highway and started on his way home. He wasn't on the road long before his luck ran out. Junmyeon merged onto a different lane, another driver failed to see him and yield, like they were supposed to.

Crunching metal assaulted his eardrums with banshee level shrieks. Pain blossomed through his head when he hit the steering wheel. Blood splattered on the windshield, from where he had no idea. Pins and needles pricked through his face and his arms. Junmyeon didn't know how long the accident lasted, but soon enough there was an object coming through his window. He started to black out. Junmyeon thought he could see his life flashing before his eyes. These people in front of him there were people he had never seen before, but they all felt familiar.

_"Baekhyun, do not bother Kyungsoo. He is going to beat you up, and we all know what's going to happen next." Junmyeon felt himself say. Who is Baekhyun, who is Kyungsoo? Why is the latter going to beat the other one up?_

_"Come now Junmyeon, let Baek get beaten up by Kyungsoo. Maybe he'll learn one of these days." A man threw his arm around Junmyeon's shoulder and laughed._

_"Kris, he is going to get beaten up and then come crying to me." Junmyeon felt himself roll his eyes. Who is Kris, why does he feel so comfortable around these people?_

Junmyeon blinked slowly, he was resting in someone's lap. He thought he could hear an ambulance in the background. A man slowly came into focus, Junmyeon ignored the pain shooting through his body when he saw the man clearly. Maybe it was the blood loss talking, but despite the pain, he was in, this man was handsome. He knew this man, this man helped him keep the others from killing each other; Kris…

"K-Kris?" Junmyeon asked quietly. He could tell the man was shocked. Junmyeon could tell the man wanted to talk to him, but he couldn't stay awake any longer. 

 

_Junmyeon woke up immediately annoyed. He didn't know who did it, but someone thought it would be funny to put his hand in water while he slept. It wasn't even smart, that trick didn't work on him. Water is his element, this had the name Baekhyun written all over it. He shook off his hand and sighed. This is not the way he wanted to start off his morning. He could already hear little chuckling from outside his door. Junmyeon quietly got up and opened the door when he knew Baekhyun wasn't paying attention. He channeled his element and created a small water ball, ready to throw it at the other. Soon enough, Baekhyun was soaked. Apparently, this was not the right response. Baekhyun looked like Junmyeon just kicked him where the sun doesn't shine. Junmyeon panicked a little bit when he saw tears welling up in the younger man's eyes._

_"Oh no Baek, don't cry. I'm sorry, Baek." Junmyeon said quickly._

_Junmyeon threw his arms out for Baekhyun to run into. The younger man immediately ran into his arms and buried his face into Junmyeon chest. While Baekhyun was trying not to cry, Junmyeon was carefully removing the water from the soaking wet child. Junmyeon forgot that it wasn't funny to Baekhyun if he was on the other side of something that ruined his mood. He rubbed Baekhyun's back soothingly and hummed to him. Junmyeon knew that Baekhyun didn't mean any harm._

_"Let's go see the others, shall we?" Junmyeon pulled back and smiled at the now dry Baekhyun._

_Baekhyun smiled and nodded happily. He grabbed Junmyeon's hand and headed to where the others were. Junmyeon saw Kris being kicked out of the kitchen by Kyungsoo and he smiled. The others joked around saying that the two of them were married with ten kids. Junmyeon was the mother figure in this relationship apparently while Kris took on the father role. Today was doomed from the start, besides Baekhyun's antics, Junmyeon felt like something was going to happen._

_For some time, everything was fine. Then as time went on, there was a harsh knock on the door. No one knew where they lived, they were always on the run from people who wanted to use them for their abilities. Junmyeon and Kris got up quickly, the others got up slowly and stayed behind the two of them. Before Kris and Junmyeon could do anything, the door was violently kicked down. On the other side were men with tranquilizer guns pointed at them._

_Kris and Junmyeon couldn't move fast enough, both got shot in the shoulder. Neither one of them went down right away. They attacked the hunters for as long as they could. Behind them they could hear Minseok and Luhan trying to get the younger kids out of danger, only to realize the house was surrounded. Junmyeon felt the tranquilizer immediately affecting him, soon enough he could fight anymore. He fell to his knees breathing heavily. Junmyeon saw one of the men slamming the butt of his gun against Kris's head knocking him out cold. Black spots began clouding his vision, the last thing he saw was his boys being attacked brutally. He felt tears well up in his eyes, the last thing he heard was Sehun's desperate cry._

_"Junmyeon!"_

 

Junmyeon's heart was beating like crazy as he sat up frantically. He was breathing deeply, trying to calm himself down. Looking at his surroundings, he noticed he was in a hospital. Memories of the accident hit him like, well a car crash. A gentle knock on the door grabbed his attention, a familiar face walked in with a clipboard. Yixing…?

"Hello Mr. Kim, it's nice to see you finally awake. You gave us quite the scare for a while." Yixing voice was as soft as Junmyeon remembered.

"H-How long was I out, what happened?" Junmyeon asked quietly.

"About a month, which is normal considering we almost lost you a couple of times." Yixing gave Junmyeon a small smile.

"How long until I am able to move around?" Junmyeon could tell that Yixing didn't know him. It hurt him a little bit, he felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest. When they were younger, Yixing used to have a lot of nightmares. He would always come to Junmyeon in the dead of night crying. It was always the same, Yixing couldn't save someone. It was his worst fear.

"Depending on your progress, I would say another month to be safe." Yixing smiled gently.

Yixing walked over to check Junmyeon's vitals when another knock, a little harsher than Yixing's, grabbed his attention. Kris walked through the door frantically. Yixing shook his head and ignored the man. Kris stayed quiet while Yixing did his check up on Junmyeon. He sat toward the other side of the room, so he wasn't in the way.

"You got here quickly," Yixing said to Kris.

"I just wanted to make sure he was alright, and I wasn't called into work today." Kris shrugged from where he sat.

"Well, I should hope so considering you almost killed the man." Yixing rolled his eyes.

 

When Junmyeon and Kris came into the hospital through the ambulances, Yixing was not happy. He and Kris have known each other for years. They lived in the same neighborhood and went to the same school district. When they were little Kris saved Yixing from some bullies in elementary school. Yixing was always an emotional boy, he hated it when people or animals were hurt. He just wanted to help them as much as he could. That wasn't welcome in the elementary school. Since then, Yixing and Kris became friends. Back then Kris was pretty cold to others, he used to say that he was only friends with Yixing to protect him from the bullies.

When they were brought in, Yixing was directed into Junmyeon's operation room. He had internal bleeding in the brain due to the trauma. Yixing was ready to do his job as he got into the operation room. It was going well, about an hour into the surgery something went wrong. Suddenly, Junmyeon heart started going haywire. He was going into shock. Yixing had to work quickly to save this man's life.

Even though he was working on his head, Yixing never looked at his face. Besides all the cuts and the bruises, something clicked when he actually looked at Junmyeon. Suddenly he wasn't in the operation room anymore. He looked around, there was a thunderstorm outside. Probably thanks to Jongdae. Yixing was confused, Jongdae? Who was Jongdae, where was he? There was a particularly loud crash of thunder outside that knocked him out of his thoughts. He was shivering, and he felt like crying. Another loud crash from outside shot him from his bed. Yixing didn't even notice that he was smaller than everything around him. He bolted down the hallway to a room with a cobalt colored door. Throwing open the door, Yixing ran in and jumped on the bed disturbing the sleeping figure.

_"Yixing? What's the matter?" The older boy felt Yixing pulsating with fear. Before Yixing could answer, another loud clap of thunder shook the house._

_"Ah, is Jongdae having fun with the storms again?" The older boy chuckled. Yixing started crying quietly as he hugged the older boy closer to himself. Feeling how afraid the scared the other was, Yixing felt arms tighten around him. Yixing snuggled into the older boy's chest._

_"It's okay Xing, Myeonie is here," Junmyeon said carefully._

_Junmyeon…_

Yixing woke up in a hospital room of his own, he was so confused. One of his head nurses walked in. She immediately noticed he was awake. She happily walked over to him and gave him a glass of water. He had no idea how he got here, last he remembered there was a car accident.

"Hello Doctor, it's nice to see you are awake." The nurse smiled at him.

"How did I get here?" Yixing asked when he was finished with his water.

"There was a car accident, we were in the operating room and you fainted." The nurse explained quickly.

"The patient how is the patient." Yixing felt like panicking, he fainted when Junmyeon needed him.

"Another doctor came in and we were able to help him." Just knowing Junmyeon was still alive made Yixing sigh in relief. He got up slowly and, with help from the nurse, he was able to stand up.

"What about the other patient?" Yixing asked.

"The other patient is also alright, funny enough he was more worried about you and the other man." The nurse smiled, this car accident started out as a tragedy and ended with a happy ending.

            After resting for about a day, Yixing was able to go check on Junmyeon. As he was checking his vitals, there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, he saw Kris standing on the other side. He didn't look as bad as the other did. Yixing crossed his arms and gave Kris a disappointed look.

"I know, my actions were careless." Kris immediately knew why the younger man was upset.

"You are a pilot, Kris." Yixing shook his head and sighed.

"In my defense, there are no cars in the sky." Yixing rolled his eyes with the answer he received.

"Yixing, we need to talk when you get the chance. This man," Kris looked at the unconscious Junmyeon and back to Yixing, "I think I know this man, and I think you do too." Kris said seriously. Every time he looked at Junmyeon he felt horribly disappointed. Something clicked every time he looked at this stranger. It was like he found a part of himself that he was missing his whole life.

"I think I already know what you mean." Kris looked back at Yixing noticed the other was also looking at Junmyeon with sad eyes. They were going to have a long talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed~


	3. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch Break~

Yixing finished checking on Junmyeon and took Kris down to the cafeteria for a small lunch break. Yixing could tell Kris was having a hard time. As he waited for Kris to come back, he thought about what he saw. He’s pretty good at his job, he has to be otherwise people could get hurt. Never, in his career, has he ever fainted in the operation room during an operation. Or ever now that he’s thinking about it. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he saw when he fainted. 

_"It's okay Xing, Myeonie is here," Junmyeon said carefully._

_Junmyeon…_

Junmyeon… Until today he has never met someone with that name, but now he feels like he has known this man for a long time. Yixing was so far into his thoughts that he didn’t even notice Kris coming back and sitting across from him. The two of them ate in silence as they thought about the new information they were given. Yixing looked at Kris and noticed that he probably didn’t sleep well last night. He looked like he just got out of bed.

“Kris, you said we need to talk and I have to go back to work soon.” Yixing smiled at the other gently.

“You’re right, like always.” Kris joked slightly.

“Last night I went to bed and I was asleep for a little less than twenty minutes. That guy was in my dreams, but it didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like a memory.” Kris sighed, he looked a little confused because of this situation.

“Tell me about the dream.” Yixing was wondering if Kris had a similar dream to the one he had.

“Well, it started out with you and me. We were a bit younger and you were crying…” Kris began to tell the story.

 

_Kris heard his name being called from behind him, he turned around and saw Yixing running to him with tears streaming down his face. Kris looked around to try and figure out why Yixing was crying before he actually got over to him. There was nothing around that would have caused these cascading tears. Kris had left the house a little over an hour ago, he was patrolling around. The boys were special, and bad people were always looking for them._

_Their powers made them targets for experimentation. They’ve been on the run for a long time. The boys looked to him and Junmyeon to keep them safe. They all met in one of the experimentation rooms. Seeing these younger boys being forced to be a part of this killed him. As they got older the experiments got more intense._

_Soon enough the younger kids started coming back with horrible injuries. Eventually, Yixing couldn’t help them anymore. The room was lined with chemicals that weakened their abilities. Yixing could only help with the smaller injuries, the bigger the injuries got the less he could help. Kris and Junmyeon met when they were experimenting on the younger kids again. Luhan and Minseok were unconscious because of their last trip to the experiment room._

_“We need to leave.” That’s all Junmyeon needed to say, they had to get out of here._

_“Yixing, what’s the matter?” Kris asked quickly._

_“Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are fighting again.” Yixing sniffled sadly._

_Kris sighed and wrapped an arm around Yixing. Junmyeon was out patrolling the other direction. Kris and Yixing quickly made their way back to the younger kids. They came back to see Luhan holding Kyungsoo in the air and Sehun holding Baekhyun on the ground. Kris shook his head and sighed, of course, this would happen while both him and Junmyeon were out._

_“What is going on?” Kris asked when Baekhyun and Kyungsoo both started to calm down._

_“Kyungsoo called me a lightbulb!” Baekhyun growled from his place on the ground._

_“Kyungsoo you know he doesn’t like that.” Kris turned to the kid in the air._

_“He said I looked like a pebble!” Kyungsoo yelled from his position._

_“Luhan, Sehun, let them up. We’re going to have a talk.” Kris rolled his eyes and pointed toward the house._

_Baekhyun and Kyungsoo knew they were in trouble, they could tell by the way Kris’s eyes switched from human to dragon eyes then back to human again. This happened from time to time. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo usually being the ones trying to beat each other up. Unfortunately, the person who usually deals with this is Junmyeon. Kris doesn’t really have a nurturing tone, he’s more of tough love kind of guy. When the three of them finally got into a private room, Kris crossed his arms and looked at the two seriously._

_“Boys sit down and tell me what happened,” Kris asked sternly._

_“I was just messing around and I said he looked like a pebble. I didn’t know he was having a bad day.” Baekhyun quickly explained._

_“Why is that the first thing you think of when you see me! That’s the reason I called you a lightbulb. It really hurt my feelings.” Tears started welling up in Kyungsoo’s eyes._

_“I-I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Baekhyun felt really bad. He had no idea that Kyungsoo was having a bad day._

_Kris didn’t have to do much, he was thankful for that. Junmyeon was the more nurturing one. Kris smiled lightly when the two of them hugged it out. He turned, ready to leave the room when he was pulled into their hug by the younger boys. He squeezed the two of them tightly._

_“Alright, now boys while we are here. Have a seat, there is something we need to discuss.” Kris decided that something needed to be said. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo sat down, they both seemed a little nervous. Kris sighed and sat down in front of them. This wasn’t his strong suit._

_“We can’t keep doing this. We are all we have. There are so many people out there that would love to hurt us. Please don’t hurt each other anymore. We need to protect each other.” Kris said softly._

_He looked the two of them in the eyes and they both looked guilty. Baekhyun started crying and hugged Kyungsoo tightly. Kris stood up and hugged the two of them tightly again. Soon enough, the front door opened up and Junmyeon was calling out for Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Yixing probably told him what happened. Kris let the two boys go and followed behind. Junmyeon immediately hugged the two of them and asked if they were alright if they were hurt or needed Yixing. Kris smiled at the scene of mama Junmyeon looking over the boys like they were on the verge of death._

_“Junmyeon, let the boys breathe.” Kris chuckled from the sideline._

_Junmyeon brushed them off and sent them on their way. He turned to Kris and smiled softly. They haven’t seen each other all day. Junmyeon was even more handsome than when he left. Junmyeon rushed at Kris and through his arms around him. Kris caught him and hugged him tightly._

_“It’s been a while,” Kris said softly._

_“All day, did you miss me?” Junmyeon chuckled happily._

_“Of course, I did.” Kris pretended to pout a bit causing Junmyeon to laugh._

_The sun was going down and it was time for the twelve of them to just hang out. The two of them walked into the living room and smiled. All of their boys in one room, safe and sound. Minseok and Jongdae scooted over so the two of them could sit down. For right now everything was okay. Kris felt Junmyeon doze off a bit next to him. He positioned Junmyeon against his chest and gently ran his finger through Junmyeon’s soft hair. For now, they were all safe. Kris felt himself dozing off and soon lost the battle._

 

Kris looked at Yixing, noticing how quiet the other one had gotten. Yixing was completely startled, this was the same type of dreamlike memory that he had. Yixing was completely in awe of how similar the two dreams were. Kris had Junmyeon, Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Kyungsoo in this dreamlike memory too. There was definitely something going on, and Yixing wanted answers.

“When he wakes up, if he says something to me, I’ll call you right away. Right now, you and I will discuss this later. I really need to get back to work.” Yixing stood up and Kris grabbed their trash, so he could throw it away. It was the least he could do since Yixing bought his lunch. Before Kris could head out, something stopped him.

“I’m glad you’re okay. Please be more careful, you’re my best friend and I don’t want to see you in my operation room anytime soon.” Yixing hugged Kris tightly.

“I promise to be more careful.” Kris hugged Yixing back with a squeeze and smiled at him.

“We’ll figure this out, okay?” Kris said with a smile and walked off.

Yixing watched his friend leave and sighed. He had no idea what was going on. Yixing started walking back to his office. His thoughts went to his own dreamlike memory and compared his and Kris’s. Something was off, he really hoped the two of them weren’t going crazy.

As he sat down he took out a notice book and started writing down the names he remembered. Suddenly the intercom called for him. He was needed in room 101, that was Junmyeon’s room. He got up quickly and made his way down the hall rapidly. One of the head nurses was looking at a clipboard with a confused expression.

“What’s the matter?” Yixing asked as he regained his composure.

“I was taking some blood work to make sure everything is okay and look at what I found.” She held out the clipboard to him.

Yixing took a look at the clipboard and couldn’t understand what he was seeing. There was an error where his blood type should be. Something is definitely wrong here. He tried telling her maybe it was the machine and she shot him down. He had to think of something quick.

“This happens sometimes, I think since I’ve been here it’s happened a couple of times. I’ll take care of it.” Yixing smiled gently at her.

She trusted Yixing, so she just left it at that. Yixing continued his check up on Junmyeon. Thankfully it wouldn’t be too long before he woke up, as look as he had a healthy recovering. Yixing continued on to another patient, but he couldn’t get Kris’s dreamlike memory out of his mind. The similarities were insane. Hopefully, when Junmyeon woke up, they could get some answers. Or maybe the two of them will continue to have these dreamlike memories and they could piece something together for themselves before they asked Junmyeon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Idol Problems?

“Baekhyun, get up! You’re going to be late!” A voice boomed, and a fist pounded on the dorm room door.

Baekhyun opened his eyes slowly, turning to the clock he groaned. It was only six in the morning and suddenly he was going to be “late” … He quickly got out of bed to get dressed so his manager would stop yelling at him. He loves singing, he really does. Sometimes though, it really annoys him. This early morning stuff is not his favorite part. He looked around his room and sighed, it definitely got lonely sometimes. On his table there stood a lonely cup of bubble tea, at least his manager brought him something fun. Baekhyun put on his sunglasses and face mask and headed out for his schedule. His manager looked upset in the front of the vehicle, but Baekhyun couldn’t really care right now.

“Baekhyun, I told you to be ready.” His manager said with a sigh.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Baekhyun said tiredly.

“We’re going to be a little late. I already messaged everyone, so it should be alright.” His manager smiled at Baekhyun gently. 

The car ride was about an hour, so Baekhyun was able to take a nap for an hour. They stopped in front of the radio broadcasting station. The first thing he had was a radio interview. As soon as he walked into the room, the make up artists and the stylists pulled every which way trying to make the process go faster. He had to give credit where credit was due, they got their jobs done really fast. Before he knew it, he was in the chair ready to go. An assistant came in and explained to him that the host was also running late.

“I’m so sorry for being late.” A man around his own age ran in looking frazzled.

“It’s alright, we all have days like this.” Baekhyun stood up and smiled.

“It’s nice to finally meet you sir, I’m Jongdae.” Jongdae held out his hand and smiled.

“I should be the one saying that. I’ve heard a lot about your show! Please just call me Baekhyun.” He shook Jongdae’s hand and smiled back.

The two of them where going to continue their conversation, but the producers yelled at them to get a move on. Sitting down, the two of them grabbed ahold of their headphones and placed them on their heads. They waited for the count down, allowing the audio team to check mics and neither of them had broken headphones. The count down seemed to take forever, Baekhyun was actually really nervous. Jongdae, or his on air persona Chen, was a really famous radio station in this area. His reputation wasn’t wrong, as he started his intro he was very hyped and loud.

“Welcome Super Idol, Baekhyun!” There was a bunch of prerecorded cheering noises as he was introduced.

“Thank you for having me, but I feel as though Super Idol is a little much.” Baekhyun laughed and quickly bowed his greeting for the camera’s that were in the room.

“With all the records you’ve broken as a rookie, I think not!” Chen said with an excited tone.

“Ah, but what about all of the records you’ve broken, Chen? Everybody in the companies take about your show all the time.” Baekhyun shot back.

“My goodness, I’m honored.” Chen had no idea but was really happy to hear this. Baekhyun chuckled, he could see the producers and his manager sigh. This is going to be the best interview he will ever do. The interview lasted awhile, the two of them actually went over time a little bit.

“Thank you for coming today!” Jongdae wrapped his arms around Baekhyun. It shocked him at first, not used to interviewers hugging him after the interview.

“No problem! I will definitely come back, if you will have me.” Baekhyun smiled and wrapped his own arms around Jongdae.

“I hate to break this up boys, but Baekhyun we really have to go back to the company for recording.” The manager came in to burst their small bubble of happiness.

“Here, let me give you my number and we can hang out. Do you play LOL?” Jongdae tilted his head.

“Oh my god, do I?! Of course, I do!” Baekhyun grabbed his number and quickly put in his own.

“Baekhyun! We have to leave. Now!” The manager growled out. Baekhyun said his goodbyes and ran off to catch up with his manager.

“Why couldn’t I have stayed a little longer?” Baekhyun whined.

“Because you are an adult and you have a job to do. Stop being so childish all the damn time. Your fans might think it’s cute, but I do not.” The manager turned around and got really close to his face. Baekhyun has never felt more afraid of anything than he did right now.

Baekhyun didn’t talk to his manager, or at all, for the rest of the day. All of his idol activities ended early and he quickly went back to his dorm. He quickly locked his door and went straight to his bedroom. His manager never snapped at him like that. They meet when he was a trainee three years ago.

_Baekhyun flopped on the ground and panted heavily. He should have listened when people said being a trainee was hard work. He hoped to debut soon, but now it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen. Some trainees have been here for seven years already. He can’t give up though, this is his dream. Baekhyun sat up and sighed, this dream meant more to him than anything. The door behind him opened and he hopped up and greet the other._

_“Hello, Baekhyun. My name is Daesuk, it has been decided. We have been watching you closely. You have a lot of talent. You will be debuting soon enough, keep working hard.” The man smiled at Baekhyun. He smiled and thanked the older man, this put a fire in him once again. He is going to be the best idol ever._

His manager was so nice back then. Baekhyun didn’t understand what changed. He groaned and threw his pillow over his face. Although this was still his dream, it was so much harder mentally than other idols let on. He looked at the clock and noticed it was around dinner time. He turned his back to the clock and sighed, he wasn’t very hungry tonight. Eventually he fell asleep, trying to get ready for the next day.

Yixing walked into the hospital room, it had been about a month since the accident. Junmyeon should be waking up soon. Neither Kris nor Yixing had been able to piece anything together, their only hope was Junmyeon awakening. He sighed and started to leave to tend to another when a groan stopped him from leaving. Yixing quickly turned around and noticed Junmyeon moving, he quickly made his way to the older male’s side.

“Mister Kim?” Yixing said quietly.

“Y-Yixing?” Junmyeon eyes shot open and he tried to reach out for the doctor only to fall short.

“I am Doctor Zhang, sir I need you to calm down. You were in an accident, do you remember?” Yixing’s heart clenched when the man called out for him.

“Yeah, I was in an accident with Kris, right? Is he alright?! Please tell me he’s okay!” Junmyeon asked desperately. Yixing didn’t answer him, he quickly left the room to tell his head nurse that he was going to take care of Junmyeon and requested that no one interrupt them. He came back in and closed the door.

“How do you know our names?” Yixing asked without turning around.

“Y-Yixing I know you don’t understand, but I promise I can explain everything. Just please, tell me he’s alright.” Junmyeon said quickly.

“He’s fine, now tell me how you know our names.” Yixing turned around slowly and sat next to the bed.

“This is going to make no sense, but I promise it’s all true. My name is Kim Junmyeon, I am a high school choir director and music teacher. The reason I know who you and Kris are is because we’re family. We are not from this world.” Junmyeon started. Yixing looked like he was worried Junmyeon was going crazy.

“You’ve been having strange dreams, right?” Junmyeon asked quickly as he noticed how freaked out Yixing was starting to get. Yixing nodded and Junmyeon smiled.

“Let me see if I can explain with something that actually makes sense.” Junmyeon said quietly. He recalled what he saw while he was in his medical coma.

_"Yixing? What's the matter?" The older boy felt Yixing pulsating with fear. Before Yixing could answer, another loud clap of thunder shook the house._

_"Ah, is Jongdae having fun with the storms again?" The older boy chuckled. Yixing started crying quietly as he hugged the older boy closer to himself. Feeling how afraid the other was, Yixing felt arms tighten around him. Yixing snuggled into the older boy's chest._

_"It's okay Xing, Myeonie is here," Junmyeon said carefully._

_“Junmyeon, let the boys breathe.” Kris chuckled from the sideline._

_Junmyeon brushed them off and sent them on their way. He turned to Kris and smiled softly. They haven’t seen each other all day. Junmyeon was even more handsome than when he left. Junmyeon rushed at Kris and threw his arms around him. Kris caught him and hugged him tightly._

_“It’s been a while,” Kris said softly._

_“All day, did you miss me?” Junmyeon chuckled happily._

_“Of course, I did.” Kris pretended to pout a bit causing Junmyeon to laugh._

_For some time, everything was fine. Then as time went on, there was a harsh knock on the door. No one knew where they lived, they were always on the run from people who wanted to use them for their abilities. Junmyeon and Kris got up quickly, the others got up slowly and stayed behind the two of them. Before Kris and Junmyeon could do anything, the door was violently kicked down. On the other side were men with tranquilizer guns pointed at them._

_Kris and Junmyeon couldn't move fast enough, both got shot in the shoulder. Neither one of them went down right away. They attacked the hunters for as long as they could. Behind them they could hear Minseok and Luhan trying to get the younger kids out of danger, only to realize the house was surrounded. Junmyeon felt the tranquilizer immediately affecting him, soon enough he could fight anymore. He fell to his knees breathing heavily. Junmyeon saw one of the men slamming the butt of his gun against Kris's head knocking him out cold. Black spots began clouding his vision, the last thing he saw was his boys being attacked brutally. He felt tears well up in his eyes, the last thing he heard was Sehun's desperate cry._

_"Junmyeon!"_

_Pain, that’s all he could feel. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even remember where he was. Slowing moving his head slightly, blinding white pain stuck him immediately._

_“P-Please, leave him alone! W-What do you want from us?” He could hear a voice beside him plea. Slowly the pain began to be too much, he allowed the darkness to overcome him._

_A while later, he opened his eyes slowly. He was still in a lot of pain, not as much as before thankfully. Looking around, he noticed his brothers were laying all around him. Something was missing. Counting his brothers there should have been eleven, there was only ten. Sitting up straight he counted again, the end result was the same. The youngest of them all was missing._

_“Sehun.” He whispered with soft horror._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think~


	5. Life Goes On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think!

Yixing had a hard time with everything he was just told, but that was the exact same dreamlike memory he had. Everything in his mind was telling him that it’s the medication talking. He didn’t know how to even begin to believe this man, but the familiar feeling he gets whenever Junmyeon talks; it’s very conflicting. Junmyeon could tell the younger man in front of him was debating on whether to send him to a mental hospital or not.

“I know. It’s very strange, and it sounds crazy.” Junmyeon said carefully.

“I don’t want to believe you, but there’s no way you know about the dream that I only shared with Kris.” Yixing sighed.

Junmyeon reached out slowly and gently grabbed Yixing’s hand. He hovered over a couple of small cuts that were still healing from the accident. Some were deeper than others, causing them to heal slower. It took a second, but as soon as Yixing’s fingers brushed over the cuts, they started to heal. This startled Yixing, he stood up so fast that he knocked over the chair he was sitting on. Yixing looked at his hands and then back to Junmyeon’s - now healed - arm. Yixing slowly left the room; he needed a minute to understand everything that just happened. He took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. Yixing needed Kris to be here, otherwise, he was going to convince himself that he was going insane.

 

 

“You have a couple of photoshoots today, Jongin. I know you’re exhausted, so I pulled some strings and I lessened the number of photoshoots you had today. However, you still have to go to the movie set later today.” Jongin could hug his manager right now. 

“Thank you so much.” Jongin loved how nice his manager was.

“People love you Jongin, you’re one of the most popular models right now.” His manager shook her head and smiled.

“It’s so tiring, but I’m thankful for every opportunity I am given,” Jongin said quickly.

“You don’t have a shoot for a while, so if you would like, I can take you down to the coffee shop you like.” His manager smiled at him.

“I would love to go!” Jongin jumped up from his place on the couch excitedly and ran off to go get his shoes on.

He loved going to the little coffee shop down the street from his house. Rumor has it that the owner makes every cup of coffee by himself. The only employees are the servers. Jongin has been going there ever since he moved to Seoul. He has never seen the owner, not even once. None of the other regulars have seen them either. Apparently, the owner got the small coffee shop from his parents when they passed away and has owned it ever since. Since he is a regular, if someone asks him for a picture or an autograph, he doesn’t really mind. He only asks that the people keep this little shop a secret. So far it has worked.

It’s such a cute little shop, and it always has his favorite radio station on. It didn’t matter where he was, it was always the same radio station with his favorite show, Kbam; he only tuned in when his favorite host was on. He loved the energy Chen brought to the show and only listened when he was on. His manager started counting down, which made him roll his eyes, and the two of them were on their way. The small coffee shop hasn’t been open for very long which meant it was quiet. He walked in happily and waved at the servers. They already knew what he wanted, so he sat in his spot and waited for his order. He checked his watch and smiled excitedly, a couple more minutes and his favorite host would come through the speakers above him. Jongin thanked the server for bringing his order, when he heard the familiar music signifying the station was changing hosts.

“Hey there listeners, it’s a beautiful day to be the best you can be!” Chen’s voice roared out of the speakers, startling Jongin for a second. He forgot how loud Chen got when he was excited.

“For all those who missed the show the other day, I interviewed the one, the only Byun Baekhyun! It was amazing, and he’s super nice in person. I know some of you were asking the other day if he was nicer in person, but honestly, everything you see on stage is what he’s like in person! It really was a great interview and we both had a lot of fun.” Jongin recalled the show yesterday.

Some people believe idol Byun Baekhyun was meaner in person. He wasn’t sure why, or how, this rumor started. As a model, he knows how easy it is for the smallest rumor to blow up overnight. It was nice to hear that Baekhyun wasn’t a jerk in real life; he hated people who are nice on stage and horrible in real life. Jongin really wanted to go to one of Baekhyun’s concerts but hasn’t had the time because of his own schedule. They finished their coffee’s and paid their bill. They had to hurry to the car so Jongin didn’t miss a second of Chen’s show. If he missed his favorite show it was immediately a bad day.

“Will I ever get to go to one of his concerts?” Jongin asked his manager.

“Maybe one day, but right now, your career comes first.” She smiled at him gently. As soon as they were in the car, they started their day on a good note.

 

 

Kyungsoo was now annoyed; he couldn’t start the shoot because the newbie was late. Apparently, the newbie was also a model with no acting experience. Which wasn’t a bad thing, but that meant that he didn’t know that in the acting world you had to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He had to admit, it was confusing. Kyungsoo had a hard time when he first started, too. So, he couldn’t be too mad. Modeling and acting were two different things. If he started modeling he would be in the same situation. Soon enough a young man ran in apologizing. Kyungsoo stood up and held out his hand to the younger man.

“Hi, I’m Kyungsoo.” He stated simply.

“I’m Jongin, sorry I’m late. My last shoot went over time.” Jongin shook his hand and smiled, a little embarrassed.

“It’s alright, I know how that can be.” Kyungsoo smiled gently.

Kyungsoo had to admit, Jongin was definitely handsome. Unfortunately, as the two of them are now coworkers, he wouldn’t act on anything. Plus, he just met this guy, who knows he could be a jerk outside of work. He quickly brought Jongin to the makeup chairs and headed off on his way to inform the director. From what he heard through the rumor mill, Jongin really looked up to him. He had to be professional and show Jongin the ropes of the acting world. Kyungsoo has won awards in the past for his acting. This didn’t mean that he walked around like he was better than everybody else though; he hated people that acted like that.

“Ah, Kyungsoo. Is Jongin here?” The director asked.

“In the makeup chair as we speak.” Kyungsoo nodded.

“Great, we’ll get started right away then.” The director nodded. Kyungsoo knew it was going to be a long day.

 

 

Kris made it to the hospital in record time. Yixing met him at the front desk to let him through. Looking at the younger man, Kris was concerned. Yixing looked like he saw a ghost. He was lead to Junmyeon’s room; Kris wondered if Yixing was going to come in as well when he was called to a different room from the intercoms. Kris took a deep breath and walked in.

“Kris, you’re okay!” Junmyeon said as soon as he saw the other man.

“You had the worst of the attack, and you were concerned for me?” Kris chuckled as he made his way over.

“D-Do you remember anything?” Junmyeon asked carefully. Yixing already thinks he’s crazy, he didn’t want Kris thinking the same thing.

“I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re special to me,” Kris said sadly.

Kris sat down and slowly moved his hand to Junmyeon’s, in case Junmyeon was uncomfortable with his movements. Junmyeon seemed to embrace it and held his hand tightly. The two sat in silence for a while, wondering what to say. Kris assumed the two to be strangers, at least they were at one point. While Junmyeon knew the truth and didn’t know how to say it out loud.

“Tell me about yourself.” Junmyeon broke the silence.

“My name is Kris, but you already knew that. I am 23 years old. The youngest pilot I have ever heard of. I started college early and took extra classes so that I could graduate early. I accidentally crashed into you, even though now I think it was fate that brought us together.” Kris winked at Junmyeon, who rolled his eyes.

“Alright well I’m Junmyeon, but you already knew that. I am also 23 years old. I am a high school music teacher. I finished college early and got my first job about almost two years ago now.” Junmyeon smiled at Kris.

“Ooh, a teacher huh.” Kris winked at him again and dodged a smack to the shoulder. The two of them sat in silence just enjoying each other’s presence.

“If I tell you something, will you trust me?” Junmyeon asked suddenly.

“I mean we just met. So, I will try to understand whatever it is you are about to tell me.” Kris answered honestly.

“This is going to sound absolutely crazy. We are not from here, we were put here by someone. I can’t remember who he is. We had a family, Yixing - I mean Dr. Zhang - was a part of our family. We don’t have a lot of time, we have to find the others.” Junmyeon said seriously.

“You’re right, you sound absolutely insane. But some part of me wants to believe you. Yixing and I have been together for a while. We met each other in school. He was always being bullied before I stepped in. I want to believe you Junmyeon, but I don’t know how.” Kris sighed and ran his finger through his own hair.

“I told Yixing about the things I saw after we crashed, he seemed to know exactly what I was talking about,” Junmyeon said carefully.

“We have had these dreamlike memories, after meeting you. Every time we have one, there are other people around us. The names I can remember from the last one I had are Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.” Kris looked at Junmyeon to see if there was a reaction from the other. Junmyeon lit up when he heard the two names.

“I don’t know how to make you and Yixing believe me, but all I ask is that the two of trust me.” Junmyeon said quickly.

“I think we can do that. I mean there’s no reason for you to lie to us right after you woke up from a medical coma.” Kris shrugged his shoulders.

“When I get out of here, the three of us need to talk about this together.” Junmyeon smiled at Kris.

“Alright, so it’s kind of a date,” Kris smirked. Junmyeon smacks his shoulder and shook his head.

“Are you flirting with the man you almost killed.” Yixing startled the older men as he walked into the room.

“No… Maybe…” Kris avoided looking at Yixing.

“Keep it in your pants Kris or I am going to make you leave.” Yixing rolled his eyes as he checked Junmyeon’s vitals.

“Buzzkill…” Kris mumbled quietly.

“As soon as you are allowed to leave, Kris and I will agree to speak with you,” Yixing said seriously to Junmyeon.

“Great, I know this awesome coffee shop we can go to. They have the best coffee there.” Junmyeon smiled

 

 


	6. Daesuk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: There is Abuse and Mentions of Abuse in this chapter, do NOT read if you are uncomfortable or you don't want to read things with that in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!

_“Come on, awaken boy.” Junmyeon groaned, blinding pain shot through him. Something kept poking and prodding at his bruising side._

_“There you go, if you wake I may postpone taking a few of the others for some tests.” The man above him laughed. He hated seeing this man day in and day out. The way he tortured his younger brothers, the way he hurt Kris… It killed him._

_“Who are you, what do you want?” Junmyeon growled and pathetically moved away from the mysterious man._

_“Remember my name and my face. I am the one who will change your lives and make them mean something.” The man was referring to the testing he frequently did on them. He usually started with the younger kids, stating that they have more tolerance because they’re younger. Junmyeon felt the man stick a needle in his arm, it was a numbing agent. He was then moved to the room hated most. The point of this specific room was to test how much galvanic energy his body can take. There are tubes with their respective symbols on the front._

_As he looked from the outside, all he sees is a pitch-black tube. The tubes themselves are soundproof, the man said that it would be inhumane to allow them to hear each other’s screams. Junmyeon felt himself being locked into place by his wrists and ankles. The door’s lock never sounded louder. The first electric currents started off small. The mysterious man had to start off small, he somehow managed to conduct a project that created a device that connects to the tubes. This device takes the electricity out their “personal” supply, Jongdae. Although these tubes made it so no one on the outside could hear the damage on the inside, that didn’t mean Junmyeon couldn’t hear the man on the outside._

_“My name is Daesuk.” That was the last thing he heard before the galvanic currents hit him._

Junmyeon sat up, gasping, he swore he could feel the electricity in his veins. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Junmyeon looked to the side and notice his alarm clock on his nightstand. He fell back and groaned, great he was no late for his lunch with Yixing and Kris. Although he knew Kris wouldn’t mind, from what he remembers Yixing hated it when people were late.

He got up quickly and sped his morning routine up as fast as he could and was on his way. Junmyeon drove carefully and watched everything like a hawk, he didn’t want to be in another car accident as soon as he got out of the hospital.  It didn’t take very long to get to his favorite coffee shop, it was pretty quiet at this time of day. Junmyeon parked and hopped out of his car. He could see the two of them sitting toward the back, the hostess at the front knew who he was already. Junmyeon was a regular here. He nodded at her and quickly made his way over to the two of them.

“Glad to see you could make it, Junmyeon,” Yixing said without even looking up from the menu.

“Sorry, it seems I overslept.” Junmyeon sighed.

“It’s alright, truth be told, we haven’t been here very long either.” Kris smiled at Junmyeon softly.

Because it was nice and quiet in the shop, their orders came quickly. Everyone knew the rumors about this place, of course, that didn’t mean they didn’t get out of control from time to time. Some people said the owner makes all of the drinks himself because he doesn’t trust anyone else. Other people say it’s because he is secretly poisoning all of the drinks with a new kind of toxin making people become addicted, so they have to come back. Junmyeon believed the first one, although this coffee was addicting, he believes it was because the owner actually cared about the product and their customers.

“Junmyeon, I really need some answers. I feel like Kris has brain damage because he actually believes you.” Yixing looked at Junmyeon seriously.

“I know this is hard to believe, I wouldn’t believe me if I was in your position.” Junmyeon nodded.

“Have either of you had any other dreams, or I guess memories?” Kris asked quietly.

“I had one last night, the three of us were in a room tied up on the ground. There was only six of us. Junmyeon asked some man what he did with everyone else, but all I heard him say was “You have five years” and then the dream was over.” Yixing said quickly.

“I’ve had a dream like that before, I think it was during the accident. I had on last night as well, the man that Yixing is talking about, his name is Daesuk.” Junmyeon added quickly.

Junmyeon, Kris, and Yixing sat in silence drinking their coffee. Junmyeon was about to swallow his drink when he heard something from the speakers above them. It was so familiar, it made his skin crawl. Junmyeon noticed that Yixing and Kris froze also. He turned around and noticed that no one else seemed to freeze like the three of them.

“Hey, there listeners! It’s Chen back again with another broadcast! I know what you all must be thinking, “But Chen, you already had a broadcast today!” or “Chen this isn’t your normal time slot!” I know all of your concerns. My friend Yoon, who usually has this time slot, is out sick today and asked me to do another broadcast. He said that I somehow make him feel better. I hope I can help you feel better Yoon!” A loud voice boomed through the small, quiet shop. Junmyeon spits his coffee all over the person sitting across from him, which happened to be Yixing. Yixing gasped and stood up, trying to wipe off the hot coffee. Junmyeon stood up when Yixing cried out. He gently wiped the coffee from Yixing. Junmyeon asked one of the employees for some ice.

“I’m sorry Yixing, I’m so sorry!” Junmyeon said as he gently wiped the burning coffee from the younger man’s face. Thankfully his powers made it so that it would permanently burn him.

“I’m okay, thank you.” Yixing sniffled. Junmyeon was reminded when Yixing was younger when he cried because Jongdae was having fun with a raging storm outside.

“What happened, Junmyeon?” Kris asked, one of the workers cleaned up the mess and the three of them sat down.

“That voice, do you know that voice?” Junmyeon asked the two immediately.

“Yeah, Chen from Kbam. He’s pretty popular, a lot of celebrities go on his show.” Kris shrugged.

“Kris, Yixing, that’s Jongdae,” Junmyeon said quietly.

“You mean to tell me we know THE Chen?” Yixing’s eyes widened.

“Well we know him as Jongdae, but yeah.” Junmyeon smiled.

“Can you tell us about the others?” Kris asked he was very intrigued. 

“Yeah, of course!” Junmyeon smiled at the two, thankfully Yixing didn’t look like he was in pain. Sometimes Junmyeon liked that Yixing had the healing ability.

“Well let’s start from the oldest down. There are two people older than Kris and I, but they both act like they’re younger than us. Minseok and Luhan, they are both really nice although sometimes the younger kids get on their nerves. Minseok’s ability is frost and Luhan’s is Telepathy. Yixing, you used to get so mad at Luhan for listening in on your thought. You’d threaten to never heal him again.” Junmyeon chuckled.

“Have you found them yet?” Kris asked quickly. Junmyeon shook his head and frowned.

“The names sound familiar. I just, I don’t know how to believe this.” Yixing sighed.

“I’ll keep going and we’ll see if anything sparks a memory.” Junmyeon smiled gently at Yixing.

“After Minseok, and Luhan there’s the three of us. I’m not too sure about after that, but Jongdae and Sehun are the only two I can remember right now.” Junmyeon sighed.

“I still can’t believe we know Chen, or Jongdae as you had said.” Yixing shook his head and he sat in disbelief.

“How do you expect to get in touch with someone famous like that?” Kris asked.

“I-I don’t know, I didn’t even know he was famous here.” The three sat in silence. Then Junmyeon remembered what Yixing said.

“Yixing did you say five years and that some of us were missing?” Junmyeon asked quickly.

“Yeah, it was in my dream or memory, whatever it is.” Yixing shrugged. 

Junmyeon remembered his own experience with the similar dream he had. He felt younger then, maybe about 19 years old. If that’s true, then they have been in this world for four years already. If they were here for four years, how did they get the jobs that they have? They were all so younger, it seemed strange that they all had major professions while they were this young. It didn’t make sense.

Junmyeon looked around and noticed the employees were not looking at the three of them. Junmyeon did the only thing he could think of. This would make or break his belief in this strange story. He’s never tried this, he doesn’t even know if this will work. Junmyeon looked at his coffee and took a deep breath. He lifted his hand over the cup and closed his eyes to concentrate. Yixing and Kris both gasped with amazement. Junmyeon slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see the liquid rising from the cup, following his hand where ever it went. He looked at Yixing and smiled at Kris, the two of them, were on their way to believing him. Junmyeon was happy that he wasn’t completely crazy.

 

 

 

Baekhyun sniffled as he wiped away his tears, he doesn’t understand. Why is his manager tormenting him? This was absolutely ridiculous, he was practicing his dance moves when his manager busted in and yelled at him. He kept saying that he was the worst and that he was going nowhere in life if he continued working like he didn’t care. Then he just left Baekhyun there, shocked and sad.

Baekhyun just couldn’t understand. After a while, he walked into the break room and notice the manager stood there with his phone. When he asked what was going on, the manager threw it and yelled at him for giving his phone number to his new friend Chen. Baekhyun was afraid, he couldn’t understand. He slowly left the bathroom and walked into the practice room again. Baekhyun heard the sound of his manager a room away and quietly listened to the angry man.

“I have done so much for them, I have almost won and you’re trying to tell me that Junmyeon has found both Kris and Yixing in the same damn day?” His manager growled.

“Well, in order to beat my experiment, they all have to meet and remember each other. I want you to keep a close eye on all of the other. Do you understand?” His manager sounded so angry. Baekhyun didn’t want to be anywhere near him right now. He sighed and started the music again and began practicing once more.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo woke up from his nap, he didn’t have a lot of time to rest so he tended to nap in between shoots. Today it was just him and his female costar on the set. Jongin wouldn’t be needed on set again for another couple of days. He couldn’t lie, he missed the younger man. Jongin seemed so eager to learn about acting, Kyungsoo should apologize one day for just assuming he was another model looking for another way to make money and look pretty.

A lot of people misjudged him because of his appearance and he did the same thing to Jongin. He had some issues with his eyes, he could wear his glasses on set and contacts really hurt his eyes. Because of his eyes, he had the habit of glaring around making him seem unapproachable to others, but even with everyone fearing him Jongin still sat down and had lunch with him. They had a nice conversation, Kyungsoo learned that Jongin voted for him on the award shows and that he loved Kyungsoo’s work. Apparently working with him was a dream come true for Jongin. Kyungsoo didn’t hear things like that a lot considering he was a newbie himself a couple of years ago, but it was nice to hear from the younger man.

After sitting in silence and just enjoying each other’s company, Kyungsoo asked about the modeling industry. Jongin seemed happy enough to talk about it. Soon enough their break was over and Jongin grabbed his shoulder before Kyungsoo could speed off for the next shoot. Jongin asked if Kyungsoo would like to get some coffee with him sometimes. Kyungsoo agreed and the two of them exchanged numbers, then they headed off to their next shot.

 

 

 

Baekhyun looked in the mirror, tears fell down his face rapidly. He literally was just practicing, and his manager came in, smacked him around a bit, and left. There was a black eye starting to bloom over his left eye. What was he doing wrong? He wanted to tell the company, but the man he used to trust threatened him. He heard about this stuff happening in other companies, but he never imagined he would be in the middle of this situation. His manager left the building and demand that he stayed in the practice room. He was running down to the coffee shop to get some fuel, they were going to be here for a while. He told Baekhyun that they would stay here at the company until he stopped messing up.

 

 

 

Yixing heard the bell from the coffee shop door and looked up. He froze, he knew this man. Junmyeon noticed how shook up Yixing appeared and turned around slightly. The two of them shared a glance and knew that they were seeing the same thing. The person grabbed his order and left as quick as he appeared. Kris now notices how tense the two of them got and watched the man leave the store.

“What’s the matter?” Kris asked quietly.

“That was the man from our memories. That man is Daesuk.” Junmyeon frowned and looked at Yixing for confirmation. The nod he got back was all the confirmation he needed.   


	7. As It Continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!

Kyungsoo walked through the company he works through. He had some time off, so he wanted to visit some old friends that still work within the company. He passed through the halls that held the practice rooms, in order to get to the acting offices, he didn’t really have a choice. He would avoid these halls if he could. As he was turning a corner, he smacked into a person going the opposite direction. Kyungsoo looked up and noticed it was the one person he didn’t want it to be, Byun Baekhyun.

“Watch where you’re going, Byun,” Kyungsoo growled as he brushed himself off.

“Maybe I’d be able to see you if you grew a little bit, you pebble,” Baekhyun growled back.

“How many Baekhyun’s does it take to change a lightbulb? Zero because they can’t figure it out.” Kyungsoo sneered.

“Yeah? Well, at least I can reach it!” Baekhyun yelled back.

Kyungsoo scoffed as Baekhyun went around him, he didn’t notice the way Baekhyun wiped away his tears that fell like steady streams. He didn’t even have time to notice the slight swelling of Baekhyun’s eye. Kyungsoo shook his head and continued on his way. The two of them used to be such good friends, but Baekhyun thought Kyungsoo was throwing away his talents when he decided to become an actor instead of a singer. The two of them were supposed to debut together, but Kyungsoo found his passion in acting rather than singing.

He told Baekhyun first, hoping he would understand his decision. It just turned into an all-out brawl between the two of them. Kyungsoo just couldn’t understand why this Baekhyun as much as it did. He missed the Baekhyun he trained with, but it was almost as if that Baekhyun had died and was replaced by the company. Kyungsoo shook his head and continued on his way to his destination. Before he reached the acting halls, he stopped in the producing department. He had a couple of friends here that he wanted to say hello to.

“Is Park Chanyeol in today?” Kyungsoo asked the lady at the front desk.

“He is, do you have a meeting with him?” She asked politely

“No, just a friend that wanted to stop in and say hello.” Kyungsoo smiled at her. He thanked her when she said she would check with Chanyeol and asked him to take a seat.

 

 

 

Baekhyun ran off to the bathroom, his tears never stopped falling. He thought maybe the manager would be nicer today, maybe even apologize to him. It only got worse. The manager locked him inside the company, not allowing him to leave. He threatened Baekhyun’s career, this was starting to get old. If that wasn’t enough, he locked Baekhyun in the closet in the practice studio for “not behaving”. Baekhyun is petrified of the dark. As he hurried down the hall, he slammed into another person going the way he was running away from.  Baekhyun looked up and wailed on the inside, he smacked into Do Kyungsoo. He picked himself up and stopped himself from helping Kyungsoo up.

“Watch where you’re going, Byun,” Kyungsoo growled as he brushed himself off.

“Maybe I’d be able to see you if you grew a little bit, you pebble,” Baekhyun growled back.

“How many Baekhyun’s does it take to change a lightbulb? Zero because they can’t figure it out.” Kyungsoo sneered.

“Yeah? Well, at least I can reach it!” Baekhyun yelled back.

Baekhyun ran off, ignoring the glares and scoffs coming from Kyungsoo.  They used to be such good friends. He was hurt when Kyungsoo decided to become an actor instead, he yelled at Kyungsoo for abandoning him. A few days later he bought some flowers to apologize. It was kind of a company thing to give flowers when you’re sorry, or if you wronged someone.

_Baekhyun smiled as he walked into the company holding a small bouquet of flowers. They were Kyungsoo’s favorite because the actor he looked up to loved them as well. He was going to apologize, and everything would be okay. Baekhyun was told that Kyungsoo was visiting his friend in the producing department. He was directed to where they would be and was about to knock on the door when he heard bits of their conversation._

_“I just can’t believe him, what a two-faced jerk!” Kyungsoo growled._

_“I can’t believe he would do something like that, Kyungsoo. I mean I don’t know the guy, but you two used to be so close.” A lower voice spoke softly._

_“I never want to speak with him again.” Kyungsoo snarled._

_“Kyungsoo, you both work for the same company, you have to at some point.” The low voice reasoned with his friend._

_“Fine, but I won’t be nice about it.” Kyungsoo scoffed._

_“You know he has like the biggest crush on you.” Baekhyun gasped quietly when he heard Kyungsoo say that. It was supposed to be their secret. Baekhyun looked at his flowers, tear stains somehow looked more beautiful upon the small canvas. He slowly backed away from the door and turned away. Baekhyun threw the flowers in the trash and ran out of the producing department. He slammed a practice door shut and slid down to the floor. Baekhyun locked the door and cried for hours. Alone in the dark, and cold practice room. He would never forgive Do Kyungsoo, and he swore that day that he would never talk to Park Chanyeol. Baekhyun was alone in this company, he could only trust his manager now._

Baekhyun chuckled darkly, how wrong he was back then. He couldn’t trust anyone in the company. Baekhyun sat down on the floor of the pristine white tiles of the bathroom. He had to give credit where it was due. Everything in this company always looked so brand new. They did a great job making everything look nice and pretty. Baekhyun thought back to yesterday, it was such a strange conversation that he overheard.

_“No! I don’t care! I need them to fail. They can’t meet each other, I’m so close. It’s been about four years already. I gave them all careers, great paying ones might I add, and still, they find each other. Why am I so upset? Because they don’t need each other anymore. I have changed their lives for the better, soon enough they won’t even be able to use their powers let alone remember each other. I’m so close to having a positive end result for this experiment. As long as I am here, they will not meet each other. Yes, three of them work in the same company, but I kept them far away from each other. They are work friends, nothing more. It doesn’t matter anyway, only Junmyeon can help them remember…” Baekhyun walked away from the wall and shook his head, he should be listening in on his manager. It could get him into more trouble. He needs to focus on practicing._

Now that he was thinking about it again, it was a strange conversation he was listening in on. How was Junmyeon? Why was his manager so worried about this person? Baekhyun rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. His eye still really hurt from the beating it took yesterday. The makeup artists were ready to kill him when he walked in with a black eye. When they asked him what happened, He shrugged and said he fell down and hit the edge of the couch. The older women rolled their eyes and made fun of him for a while, but he didn’t mind.

“Has anyone seen Baekhyun? I stopped at the shop again this morning to get his favorite.” The voice outside the bathroom door made him freeze. He held his breath and didn’t let go until he heard the large footsteps walking away. Baekhyun looked at his watch and sighed, he really needed to get back to practice.

 

 

 

Junmyeon sat down at his desk, they were going to be back in school soon enough. He wanted to make sure he was at least ready for the first week of classes. He adjusted his glasses and leaned back in his chair. He needed to know who these other people were. How else were they going to get answers? Junmyeon sat up and looked up Kbam, when he saw Chen’s page he clicked on it. As soon as he saw Jongdae, memories exploded in every way possible.

_“Junmyeon, we can’t be next to each other, I might hurt you again!” Jongdae bawled as he curled into his favorite pillow._

_Junmyeon looked at the younger boy sadly. Jongdae wasn’t that much younger than him, but somehow, he seemed like he was five again when he was upset. Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongdae had that in common. Jongdae was practicing his ability with Junmyeon when there was a rogue shot fired. It hit him hard, he fell to the ground and convulsed. It lasted longer for him because of the galvanic current discharge that fought against his own ability. Water and Lightning do not mix well together, like Fire and Ice. Jongdae had been so petrified that he screamed for Yixing, afraid to leave Junmyeon but also afraid to touch him. It didn’t take long for Luhan to hear the cries and order Jongin to port Yixing to the pair._

_“Jongdae, I know you didn’t mean it. It’ll be okay, I promise.” Junmyeon tried to get the boy to uncurl and come to him._

_“You’re going to die, and it’s because of my irresponsibility.” Jongdae wailed._

_“Jongdae I promise you are not going to hurt me.” Junmyeon opened his arms nice and wide, knowing Jongdae can’t resist a hug. The younger boy rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Junmyeon, squeezing him tightly. Junmyeon hummed to Jongdae as he cried against him._

 

 

_“Junmyeon! Jongdae shocked me!” A very angry voice woke him from his nap._

_“I did not! Jongin startled me so I defended myself!” Jongdae’s voice complained. Kris was out doing patrol with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, which meant Luhan and Minseok were pretending to sleep so Junmyeon could deal with every little problem. Junmyeon sighed and sat up. Sparks were flying from Jongdae, signifying his anger, and Jongin was vibrating in and out of sight._

_“Alright you two, enough. We don’t want some sort of time god coming down to disciple you two for ruining time and space.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes, thankfully Tao wasn’t a part of this fight._

_“Tell me what happened,” Junmyeon said after he yawned._

_“Jongin popped out of nowhere behind me and startled me, so I gave him a little shock.” Jongdae shrugged his shoulders._

_“Little?! It made my hair stand up!” Jongin yelled pointing at his hair. It was then Junmyeon noticed that Jongin’s hair was trying to leave the atmosphere, ridged with electric currents caught in it. Junmyeon fought the urge to laugh at the sight._

_“Jongdae, Jongin apologize to each other.” Junmyeon sat at the edge of his bed and looked at the two._

_“I don’t want to apologize to him! I will never forgive him!” Jongdae crossed his arms and turned away. Jongin started to tear up, Jongdae wouldn’t even look his way._

_“Jongdae, for people like us never is a long time. This is the only family you will ever have. That any of us will ever have. Do you really want Jongin, one of your younger brothers, to never talk to you again?” Junmyeon asked seriously. He could see Jongdae lose the tenseness in his shoulders._

_“No… I-I’m sorry Jongin.” Jongdae turned around and looked at the floor. Jongin rushed forward to hug Jongdae and accept his apology. The two left happily and Junmyeon laid down again. About five minutes later he groaned as he heard a scream of rage leave the living room._

_“Junmyeon! Jongdae shocked me again!” Jongin’s voice yowled throughout the house._

 

 

 

Junmyeon gasped and sat up quickly. He gazed the surroundings and notice he was still in his office in the school. He ran his fingers through his hair. When did he get on the floor? Junmyeon shook his head and quickly stood up. He had no idea how they were going to get in touch with Jongdae. Junmyeon chuckled, of course, the younger boy was famous. He had the perfect personality for it after all. He sat in his chair again and went back to the searching engine. Jongin? The other younger boy struck Junmyeon as someone who could also be famous. Sure enough, Kim Jongin popped up, famous model and beginning actor. As he looked for certain articles to click on there was a tab near the bottom of the screen of related searches. Do Kyungsoo, Byun Baekhyun, Park Chanyeol those three were under Red Entertainment. Junmyeon clicked on a certain article that had Kyungsoo and Jongin’s name on it.

“Rookie actor, Kim Jongin, and Do Kyungsoo team up for the new movie known as “Monster”. When asked about the younger actor, Kyungsoo simply smiled and complimented the younger man for his hard work and talent.” Junmyeon read out loud.

Great, so now five of them were famous. How in the world were they going to get in contact with them? Junmyeon sat back in his chair and sighed. He had to figure this out, and soon. If he was right, they don’t have long. Five years, it starts with you, do not disappoint me… Junmyeon didn’t understand, he was a high school music teacher nothing more. What if he’s just crazy and he’s dragging Yixing and Kris along with him. No, he was right. They needed to find these boys and soon. Daesuk would not win this game, not if Junmyeon had anything to say about it.


	8. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentions of kidnapping, Mentions of experimentation/torture, Mentions of explicit violence and some deaths of Red Nurses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Junmyeon sat down in his office, things weren’t going the way he needed them to. Their lives got in the way, funny enough. As school began, late nights of figuring out the semester, the hospital got busy, and Kris had been working more flights. He reached into his desk and pulled out lesson plans for the next month. Junmyeon sighed, everything felt so wrong. He thought this was his dream job. All he wanted to do was help kids and bring some music into their lives. Music saved his life, he grew up in a town that cared more about sports than the arts. His parents wanted him to get into sports, but it wasn’t where his heart wanted to be.

He couldn’t see himself going anywhere in life, nothing excited him, he had no future. Until one day, he saw poster out in the hallway of his morning class. It was a simple poster. No sequence or bright colors, but it still caught his attention. All it said was “Stars shine brighter when no one is looking”, Junmyeon never wanted to be in the spotlight but he was definitely curious. So, he went to choir try-outs and he felt a spark in his heart. Junmyeon shook his head, it was all a lie. All of his memories from this world never really happened. The people he always considered his brothers, are out there. They don’t even know who they really are, and Kris… How could he forget his love? The person who always helped him out with the children.

_Minseok and Luhan help quite often, but even they have their moments. Kris was different from the others. Junmyeon new the other since the first day of training. They were all taken from Exoplanet. Taken from the different sectors and brought together on this new planet for testing and experiments. Junmyeon was heartbroken to see Sehun and Jongin in this situation. They were only six, they were ripped from their homes and were brought here to be experimented on. Junmyeon was only 11 years old._

_Minseok and Luhan didn’t speak for a long time, although they were all trapped together the two of them stayed silent. Until they came from Sehun and Jongin. The two oldest attacked the nurses when they tried to take them. Junmyeon and Yixing joined in the attack while the other boys comforted the two younger boys. After that day they weren’t allowed to roam freely in their room, they had to be tied down on their beds unless they had their medicine. Three years later, Junmyeon was 15 and they were told to “behave” because there was a special guest coming. The nurses didn’t talk often when they did it was always negative about them or the boss._

_Today’s special topic was the arrival of the boss and his son. Apparently, years ago the boss began experimenting on his own son. From what Junmyeon heard his mother was a citizen of Exoplanet and their son inherited her abilities. That was the last he ever heard of the woman. Now this son of the devil was coming here. The boys were in the eating area when the door opened earlier than it was supposed to. A new boy walked in wearing the same white outfit they were all wearing. The boss had a hand on the kid’s shoulder and smiled at all of them._

_“Morning boys, this is the new addition to your tests. His name is Kris.” Junmyeon shook his head at the memory. It didn’t take long after that, soon enough Kris dug his way into the younger one’s hearts and started chipping his way at Junmyeon’s. The jokes began after a while, mama Junmyeon and papa Kris was suddenly their new names. Even with the older two. After a particularly hard day, Sehun came back with cuts and bruises all over him and Kris snapped. He killed a couple of nurses and was put into solitary confinement. When he came back he simply looked at Junmyeon and said one thing._

_“We have to get out of here.” Junmyeon pushed his chair back and checked the updates on his computer, all of these memories drained him._

From what he could remember, it took them two years to escape and they spent two years running before they were caught off guard. He can only remember small bits of their capture. How could they have been so careless? He still doesn’t know what mistakes they made, or what they may have done to tip off the reds. But it didn’t matter now. The only thing that matters now is that they are running out of time and still haven’t been able to contact the others. They figured the easiest way is to make Junmyeon smack into Jongin at the coffee shop, but then Jongin and Kyungsoo went out of the country for some award ceremony.

Then they decided that the next best way was to somehow get in touch with Jongdae, it really shouldn’t have been hard. Radio personas live off of the interaction with their listeners, and yet because of work and Jongdae running around all over the place they haven’t been able to get in contact with him. This whole situation was frustrating, they are running out of time. For some reason, the district decided that all of the teachers had to go with their students to the zoo for a district-wide get together before the stressful part of the semester starts. In Junmyeon’s opinion, it's making the stressful part of the semester come quicker. This seemed like the most ridiculous thing ever, but apparently, this is for a district-wide project to get the younger kids and the older kids to interact.

Why this is happening, Junmyeon had no idea. He came in early today to get some work down before they had to leave on the bus. Looking over at the clock, he panicked. He’s supposed to be on the bus in a few moments. He grabbed his ID and headed out. He never thought the high school would make him go to the zoo, but here they go off to the zoo… Junmyeon never hated a ride to the zoo more than he did right now. Screaming children in a tight space, this was not the way he wanted to spend his day. Thankfully the zoo wasn’t too far away from the high school and they got there pretty quickly. The teachers were allowed to pick a group to join so he joined his choir kids and headed on their way. The choir kids weren’t having a good time, heck all of the high school kids thought this was ridiculous. But what the district says, everyone else must follow, unfortunately. He noticed one of the younger kids that came along with his group wanted to go to the souvenir shop. They headed on over and wait for all the kids to grab a trinket.

“Here, how about this, I’ll take the ten that you have, and I’ll pay the rest okay?” Junmyeon looked up from his phone and noticed one of the small children was a little short in cash. He smiled when the worker took out some money from his own wallet and paid for the rest, so the child could leave with the big otter stuffed animal. He looked away for a moment and then had to do a double take.  Luhan?

 

 

 

Jongdae was so excited, today he was going to meet a college student that wanted to shadow him for the day. He was pretty sure it was for a grade, but that’s still pretty cool. From what he gathered the student was a communication major and wanted to learn more about the careers he could start the path on. A couple of communication majors have come to the studio, but they didn’t shadow him. It was usually one of the others that got shadowed, but this was his time to shine. He was beyond excited.

“Jongdae, the college kid is here.” His assistant informed him. Jongdae shot up excitedly and ran to the front of the building to meet the kid. Well, Jongdae might have been a little too excited. This college kid was really tall… Taller than he is anyway.

“Hi, I’m Jongdae, it’s nice to meet you.” Jongdae held out his hand and gave the kid a nice smile.

“Hello sir, I’m Sehun.” The kid shook his hand eagerly and smiled back at him.

 

 

 

Jongin was so happy, Kyungsoo agreed to come with him to the coffee shop again. He was still really paranoid about being seen and attacked, but somehow Jongin was able to bring him out of his little hideout at the company. The two of them walked in and sat down near the back. The waitress grabbed their order quickly and headed off to the back. Jongin watched Kyungsoo try to catch a glimpse of the kitchen, the last time they were here, Jongin told him about all the rumors surrounding this place. He chuckled when Kyungsoo cursed as his attempt ended up in failure. Jongin checked his watch and smiled excitedly.

“Why are suddenly really happy about your watch?” Kyungsoo asked as he watched Jongin.

“My favorite radio show is about to begin!” Jongin answered excitedly.

“You wouldn’t be talking about the Chen show, would you?” Kyungsoo smirked and shook his head.

“Yeah! I love that show!” Jongin laughed happily. It wasn’t a good day unless he listened to the Chen show.

“Hey, there listeners! I’m back with a great show today. We’ll be talking about everything that’s going on in the news, we’ll be playing the new hits, and we’ll be taking some calls today.” Sure enough, right on time. Today was officially a good day for Jongin. Their coffees came quickly, Jongin chuckled when, once again, Kyungsoo tried to see into the back room

“How do you feel safe with this? From what you have told me, no one knows what this owner even looks like. How do you trust them with making coffee?” Kyungsoo sighed as he looked at his own coffee.

“You didn’t have a problem with it last time when you drank all of it.” Jongin chuckled at the other's concerns.

The two of them sat there for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. They talked about work and the differences between model photo shoots and acting photoshoots. Jongin complimented Kyungsoo on all of his accomplishments and how all of his favorite movies had Kyungsoo in them. Kyungsoo asked Jongin about why he wanted to become an actor. His answer made Kyungsoo chuckled, Jongin’s answer was simply ‘You’.

 

 

 

Junmyeon couldn’t stop staring at Luhan, here? Of all places? He watched as his older brother smiled at, the now really happy child, run to his parents with a new toy. Luhan didn’t look any different from his memories. He just seemed older and less stressed, which is understandable considering the last time they saw each other they were in a cell, beaten and cold. Junmyeon looked away from Luhan to check on his group of students, all of them seemed to be having a great time in the gift shop. He turned back, Luhan was gone. Junmyeon felt himself starting to panic. He calmed himself down, nothing could hurt them here, besides life. Luhan can’t just disappear. A new lady took the position where Luhan was.

“Excuse me, Miss. There was a man up here, do you know where he went by any chance?” Junmyeon asked, hoping it wasn’t too creepy of a question.

“Are you a friend of his? He just ran off to get some food. He’ll be back soon.” The woman smiled at him.

“Okay, thank you.” Well, he’s dug himself into a hole. She would probably tell Luhan some guy was waiting for him. He couldn’t explain anything here… Luhan would probably think he was absolutely insane and would kick him out of the zoo… Well, he doesn’t have to explain everything right away, now he knows where Luhan works, at least it’s progress.

“Hello, sir. Are you looking for me?” Junmyeon turned around to a new voice behind him.

“U-uh yeah, I was wondering if I could have your opinion. My daughter loves the zoo, but she doesn’t go to the school I work for. So, she couldn’t come here with us. I’m not sure if she would like a stuffed animal or a necklace.” Junmyeon couldn’t believe his eyes.

“How old is she?” Junmyeon thought for an appropriate answer for his age.

“She is 10 years old.” Junmyeon smiled.

“I would suggest a stuffed animal. Maybe a deer or a wolf pup.” Junmyeon felt his heart breaking.

Junmyeon nodded, he walked over to the deer stuffed animals and pick one up. He brought it over and had it scanned. He smiled and nodded at the man in front of him. Junmyeon left quickly, that man wasn’t Luhan.


	9. Unfair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is mention of mental torture, kidnapping, physical torture, animal abuse, language. Do NOT read if you are uncomfortable with any of this. If you see I missed a warning of a tag, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Junmyeon looked out the bus window, was he going crazy? He could have sworn he saw Luhan. But the man who came back wasn’t Luhan. He needed to find the remaining four. Junmyeon was so frustrated he technically only found Kris and Yixing, well Kris. Yixing still didn’t completely believe him. They are running out of time. Junmyeon could feel tears forming in his eyes. He couldn’t let these tears fall in front of the children. But he couldn’t help feeling like he was failing his brothers, his love… He needs to find them, nothing mattered more to him than his brothers and Kris. They are the most important people in his life. 

As they arrived at the high school once again, Junmyeon got off along with the staff and made sure all of the children were safely reunited with their parents. There was a staff party after all the children had left, he couldn’t go. Junmyeon had to contact Yixing. His heart pound against his chest, the tears he had held in for so long have finally decided to pour down his face. They felt like fire against his cool skin. Junmyeon chuckled, Fire… Chanyeol… As he thought about them, their smiling faces popped into his mind. Only to be tainted by the last time he ever saw them. Sehun, Jongin, Zitao, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Jongdae, Baekhyun, Yixing, Kris, Luhan. Minseok. He chanted all of their names over and over. Hoping that they might appear in front of him with their arms out to comfort him.

He doesn’t know when he got to his office, or when the office started to flood, nor when he fell to the floor splashing into the water as he panted heavily against the door of his office. Junmyeon closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and remembered everything. There wasn’t anything that escaped his mind. He opened his eyes slowly, gaze fierce enough to cut an opponent with even moving a muscle. Hate filled in his eyes like a category five hurricane. He only thought about two things at that moment; getting his boys back and getting revenge on the man that did this to them.

_Daesuk._

 

 

 

Yixing was forced to go home from his job, the nurse demanded that he get some rest. In a way she was right. How can he help someone if he isn’t completely there? If he’s not 100% there, it could mean making a mistake that could put someone’s life in danger. He unlocked the door and put his keys on the table, he made sure to lock everything up and made his way to his room to rest. He was too tired to change, he just wanted some rest. Yixing closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

 

_Yixing fought against the restraints as he was wheeled down the hall. It was time for his turn in the experimentation room. He didn’t want to go back, the last time he was in the experimentation room, they focused on the mental torture. He was forced to watch a small animal die slowly and he wasn’t even allowed to help the tiny creature. Mental torture was the worst kind in Yixing’s opinion. Today was probably going to be more physical, they never did the same type twice in a row. One of the nurses stopped the bed and injected some of the blue calming liquid into his IV bag. He felt the effects almost immediately. He couldn’t remember anything after that, he must have blocked it all out._

_“Yixing!” Turning around he was a little nine-year-old running up to him happily. He had just come back from one of the testing room and was exhausted but seeing Sehun seemed to light a fire under him._

_“Hello Sehun, how are you today?” Yixing smiled as the younger boy wrapped his arms around him._

_“Good, I’m glad you came back. Tao made me cry…” Sehun sighed against Yixing as he relaxed._

_“Why? What happened?” Yixing grunted as he picked Sehun up. He was starting to get too big for Yixing to pick up, but he would continue to pick Sehun up until he gets hurt._

_“The scary ladies came in and took Minseok, Luhan, Kris, Junmyeon, Baekhyun, Jongdaae, and Chanyeol away. They tried to take Kyungsoo but Jongin wouldn’t let them. Then Tao said that none of you were ever coming back and that we were next.” Sehun started to tear up a little bit again as Yixing shook his head._

_“Sehun, I know this is hard for you. You have to understand that we’re all scared. No matter how scared we are though, we will always find a way back to you four.” The older kids tried to keep the youngest four away from the experiments, and so far, they were succeeding. Yixing wanted Sehun to understand that this was serious. They never let the younger kids see their injuries. Yixing noticed Sehun’s small yawn and chuckled. This was a lot of stress for an eleven-year-old, he couldn’t imagine how hard this must be for a nine-year-old._

_“Let’s go rest, shall we?” Yixing carried Sehun with slight difficulty to his bed and laid down with him. Yixing woke up a while later to screaming, Sehun wasn’t next to him anymore._

_He sat up quickly and looked around frantically. The youngest four weren’t in the beds. The world was suddenly in slow motion. Looking down at himself he noticed he was strapped to the bed. He felt tired and unsteady, they push the blue liquid into his IV bag. Yixing looked around the room and saw the others fighting against the restraints as hard as they could. From what he could see, Kris broke one of his wrists, Luhan was covered in restraints as he thrashed on the bed. Minseok was completely out of it because his entire IV bag was dark blue. Junmyeon, Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Chanyeol screamed so loud that Yixing was sure his eardrums were going to explode._

_He shifted his gaze to the door and saw the nurses taking an unconscious Sehun out the door. It was then he realized that the four youngest were gone. He couldn’t say anything. Yixing felt tears streaming out of his eyes, he doesn’t even know when they started. Eventually, the fluid in the IV bag was too powerful and he lost consciousness. The last thing he heard was the screaming of his brothers and the snapping of bones as they tried to break free._

 

 

 

Yixing gasped and shot up from his bed. His breathing wouldn’t slow down, his heart pounded against his chest. It felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest, it felt like his heart was going a million miles an hour. He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. They can’t hurt him, he was in his home and he was safe. No, this wasn’t his home, he’s not from here. His home was in Exoplanet. His home was where ever his brothers were. He believed Junmyeon, he remembered everything, it’s time to face reality. This place isn’t real, his career isn’t real, this life isn’t real. His brothers are in danger, that’s what’s important and that is real. Yixing got up quickly and ran into the kitchen, he grabbed his phone and called Junmyeon. After waiting for a few minutes there was an answer on the other side of the line.

“I believe you.”

 

 

 

Luhan walked around the zoo, it was closing time. He liked making sure all of the animals were alright before he locked everything up. His favorite place to visit was the bear cubs. They all went to sleep early, seeing them all curled up made him smile. It was absolutely adorable. He worked pretty much everywhere at the zoo. Technically he was a senior keeper and he oversaw the sector with the African animals, but he liked to be everywhere and help out with all of the animals when he could. He also helped the gift shop staff if they were low on numbers for the day. Today was probably the cutest day in the gift shop. An entire school district came to their zoo, it was wonderful to see. Luhan somehow made his way to the otters and shook his head at the one named Bo.

“A little boy went home with a plush of you today. You’re quite popular with the little ones, Bo. If only they knew how sassy you always are with the keepers.” Luhan chuckled at the small male otter. He jumped back when Bo splashed him and rolled his eyes.

“Alright, I’ll leave you alone. Goodnight Bo.” Luhan threw in a little otter treat and walked to the employee office.

 Unfortunately, the zoo wasn’t always open. They had to make money for the animals all year round, so Luhan and another senior keeper take a couple of their show animals to some schools and let the children see them up close. The last time they went out to a school, one of their pelicans took a high schooler backpack and ran around with it. That was the longest show of Luhan’s life. The Pelicans have always been troublemakers. The got the pelicans a couple years ago, the zoo that they came from didn’t have the correct materials to help the hurt birds and they were transferred to their zoo.

The birds never wanted to leave, they had to stay in a zoo though. One of them had permanently broke wings. His name is Ling and he is the one that causes the most trouble. Ling hates therapy, so they have to bribe him with treats all the time. The other two birds follow Ling around like lost puppies. The two twin sister pelicans do everything Ling does. So Yi, the older sister, has a permanently broken beak. Where she came from, pollution made the food disappear. They found a couple of small stones in their stomach, one of those stones was hard enough to crack her break. Her younger sister, So Yeon, was missing a foot. The other zoo had said she got it from being in a fight with some trash in the ocean. It cut her foot pretty deeply and by the time the other zoo could help her it was way too infected.

 She couldn’t even stand on it anymore. It had to be amputated to save her life. Despite how annoyed he got when the bird liked playing hide and seek or keep away, he loved the birds and the children in the school usually loved the pelicans as well. Luhan cried for the pelicans when they first came, and now he’s always chasing them when they take his keys and his ID card. Even on his days off, he somehow finds his way to the zoo to help out.

Luhan sighed and sat down at the computer, he was now in his everyday clothes. He wanted to take a look at the records before he locked up for the night. As everything seemed correct, he closed up and headed on his way home. He didn’t live too far from his work, so it didn’t take long to get home. Taking a deep breath, he got ready for bed early, so he could get to work in the morning.

 

 

 

He could finally go back to work tomorrow. Unfortunately, he got a flu bug a week ago. On the good end though he had a great boss. Although he’s never actually seen the boss, he knows his boss is a good person. There is only one waitress that knows what he looks like. Zitao got everything ready for work tomorrow. It was lonely a part-time job, he is still in school after all. His degree is in business management, his mother really loves fashion stores. He really wants to work with his favorite brands, make them more affordable for everybody if he can that is. Zitao was pretty good in business, pretty persuasive too. He will never forget his current boss though, they are so considerate of their workers. This was probably going to be the nicest boss he will ever have in his life. Zitao really couldn’t wait until he could good to work tomorrow. As soon as he laid down, his phone light up indicating he received a message. It was from an unknown number. Zitao shivered as he looked at the warning sent to him.

**_Unknown: Huang Zitao, I will only say this one. Stay away from Kim Junmyeon._ **

 

 

 

Baekhyun groggily woke up as a loud, cheerful tone pierced through his dreams. Looking around he noticed it was dark outside. He squinted his eyes and picked it up. The light burned but he figured it was supposed to since he was getting a call from hell itself. Baekhyun sighed, his manager couldn’t even let him sleep.

“Hello?” He closed his eyes while he listened to the man on the other side.

“Baekhyun pack your bags. We are being relocated.” His manager’s harsh tone shattered his silence.

“What? What do you mean?” Baekhyun suddenly felt more awake.

“We are moving company locations. Starting tomorrow we will be working in the Red Entertainment building in Japan. It has become apparent that you and two others are not being civil to each other.” Daesuk growled on the other side of the line.

“Who cares if we’re not getting along, I don’t want to move company locations!” Baekhyun complained loudly.

“This is final, I will be there soon. Be ready.” Daesuk hung up on Baekhyun.

Because of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, he has to move locations?! This was completely unfair! He leaned back and groaned loudly. He hated Do Kyungsoo and Park Chanyeol. Baekhyun hasn’t even done anything wrong! This was completely one-sided. Baekhyun felt tears making their way down familiar tracks on his face. He hasn’t cried this much in such a long time. His cries got louder and louder, he was the only one here so there was no one to interrupt. Eventually, he started crying so much that he couldn’t breathe. He kept coughing, he knew he needed to calm down.

Baekhyun got up from his bed and walked toward the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and hated everything he saw. Eyes puffy, face red, bags under his eyes. He looked so pitiful. Baekhyun grabbed his toothbrush and began his morning routine so he could go to the airport looking decent.

He squinted confusedly, where was this light coming from? He doesn’t remember turning on the light? Was it following him? Baekhyun looked around for his phone to see if his flashlight was on, only to notice it was nowhere near him. He looked on in disbelief. This light was coming from… Him? Baekhyun looked at his hands like it was the first time he had ever seen time. A soft glow was illuminating the small bathroom and it was coming from him. He looked into the mirror and noticed his irises seemed to be a light gray. Baekhyun touched his face and watched as the mirror did the same.

He quickly turned on the bathroom light and it all went away. His eyes were back to normal and the only light now was coming from the lightbulbs. Baekhyun turned on the faucet and splashed his face quickly, thinking it was an allusion from his mind that wasn’t quite awake yet. He took another look at himself and sighed. Life was unfair, but the way the challenges are taken makes a person stronger. Baekhyun doesn’t remember where he heard that from, but right now it was very true to his situation.  


	10. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is mentions of child abuse, mentions of a murder, and explicit language in this chapter Do NOT read if these things bother you, if you see I missed something, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

“Y-You what?” Junmyeon couldn’t believe his ears. He must have been dreaming, right? He looked over at his alarm clock, so early on a Saturday…

“I believe you, I remember,” Yixing said quickly on the other end of the call.

“Y-You believe me?” Junmyeon was more so talking to himself.

“I will contact Kris a little later, we need to meet as soon as possible. We’ll meet at the same place, the coffee shop.” Junmyeon looked at his home screen, Yixing hung up on him.

 

 

 

Kris got home from the airport, he took a longer shift. It was a nonstop flight from Japan to France and back. It was around three in the morning, the car ride from the airport to his home was about an hour. He could finally lay down in his bed and relax. As he laid down he thought about what Junmyeon has been saying. If he was being honest, he didn’t really believe Junmyeon. But he trusts Yixing, he usually lets Kris know if someone is dangerous or weird. Yixing was better at reading people while Kris beat up the bad people. Well, not anymore… They are both adults now if Kris goes around beating people then he gets arrested. Kris didn’t really want to go to prison so early in this life. He took a deep sigh and settled down for the night.

 

_“Mommy! Are you staying home this time” Kris ran up to his mother, who stopped by to see him for the first time in three years._

_“I can’t. Your father can’t know that I came to visit, okay?” His mother knelt down to match his height. Her fingers ran through his hair and she gave him a gentle smile._

_“But mom, I miss you. You even missed my birthday…” Kris grumbled and crossed his arms. His mom missed his seventh birthday._

_“I know sweetheart, I’m sorry. Mommy and Daddy are fighting right now. It’s not safe for you if I’m around.” His mother sighed._

_“Will you come home soon?” Kris tilted his head innocently._

_“I-I’m not sure when I’ll be home again. Be good okay? Promise me you’ll behave?” His mother smiled at him gently._

_“I promise mommy.” That was the last time Kris ever saw his mother._

_“Kris! Come here now.” His father’s voice boomed throughout the house. He got up quickly and walked toward his father’s office. It had been a year since the secret visit from his mother. His father was changing, becoming more irritated with the slightest things like breathing…_

_“Yes, father?” Kris walked in quietly._

_“Has your mother contacted you at all in the past year?” Daesuk looked at his son carefully._

_“No, sir,” Kris said immediately._

_“Pack your bag, we’re moving.” His father dismissed him._

_“W-What about school?” Kris didn’t want to leave his schools, his friends._

_“Do not argue with me, boy. Go pack. You won’t need very much.” Daesuk growled at the young boy and pushed him out of his office. He could never have imagined that he would never see humans again._

_They arrived at a facility, his father told him on the way that it was a place for special boys like him. He didn’t know what that meant, but he learned at a young age to never question his father. Daesuk led Kris down a normal looking office hallway, the outside of the facility looked like a completely normal office building. He had a small suitcase rolling behind him. Daesuk led him to the elevator at the end of the hall, he took his suitcase and nudged him in._

_“I will take this, after all, you won’t be needing it anymore.” His father pressed the basement button and backed out of the elevator. As the elevator went down to its destination, Kris felt nervous. The door opened, a woman with a pristine white dress and a blood red visor over her eyes._

_“Hello, Kris.” The woman’s robotic tone made him shiver._

_“Where am I? Are there other children here?” Kris stepped out of the elevator and followed the woman down the clean hallway._

_“Soon you will meet your kind. For now, behave.” The robotic woman led him into a room. It had one bed with an IV bag right next to it. The bed had straps attached to it. He looked at the woman, who pointed at the bed. Kris walked over to the bed and hopped up on to it. She followed behind him and pushed him kind of harshly against the bed. The woman then proceeded to strap him in._

_“What’s going on?” Kris felt tears forming in his eyes._

_“No questions.” The woman left the room when he was properly strapped in, as soon as she entered the hallway, his lights went off. Screaming from the eight-year-old was heard throughout the underground facility, but no one above ground could hear his cries._

_Daesuk fixed his tie and walked into the main meeting room, all of his colleagues were here for his important pitch. His presentation was talking about the new planet that the scientists had found within the last two years. The people on this planet seem to be very different from the people of Earth. He learned that his dear wife was a monster. Daesuk staged an “accident”, there wasn’t much of a funeral and the kid still didn’t know. His wife tried to hide her special “abilities” from him._

_A few weeks after Kris’s seventh birthday she grew careless and he saw her, changing into another being. One that shouldn’t exist in any world. When she noticed him, she tried to explain herself. Daesuk stopped her and demanded she stay away from him and Kris. How do you tell your son that his mother is a monster? The answer is simple, you don’t._

_Daesuk waited to see if his son had any of the same behaviors as his wife had shown. He picked Kris up from school, he noticed that he was fighting with one of the bullies on the playground. When he called out to him, Kris turned. His eyes were not human. When he realized his father was in front of him, his eyes returned to normal and he started to cry. Telling Daesuk all about what the evil boy tried to do. Daesuk could only see the monster growing in his son._

_Today, he has finally built enough under his company building to start the experiments. He was determined to fix his son and make him normal again. The thought occurred to him, however, what if he could save other children from this new planet? That’s what his presentation was about today. He is a very successful businessman, known throughout the world, he knew he could make an argument that would get him to the new planet for “research” and “business proposals. It was his time to do something good for these monsters. He is going to save them._

_Kris stopped screaming a long time ago, no one could hear him, no one was coming to help him. After a while, the robotic woman came back. She had a syringe with some strange liquid inside of it. The woman flipped his arm over, so she could see his veins and injected the IV needle into him. After making sure it was correctly inserted, she filled the IV bag with the blue liquid and watched as the small children lost reality. Soon enough he fell asleep._

 

Kris woke up, panting. His heart was going a million miles an hour, it felt like it would come straight out of his chest. It all came back to him. Being alone in his pristine, white room. All the times he was sent out for tests, the first time he met the boys, seeing them all get hurt over and over again, and finally escaping. He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, he splashed his face with cold water and looked at the mirror. His eyes were changing to blue reptilian eyes, almost dragon-like. Kris whipped his head around when he heard his phone ringing, looking back in the mirror he noticed his eyes were normal again. He quickly picked up his phone and saw that Yixing was called, it was eleven in the morning.

 

 

 

Zitao arrived for his shift nice and early. Technically he wasn’t supposed to come until noon, but he really loved to meet the new people who would often find the little coffee shop. Placing his apron around his waist, he hung up his coat and heard the front door opening and closing. He grabbed his order pad and headed out. The three men didn’t pay a lot of attention to him, he noticed something seemed to be on their minds and didn’t want to pry. Zitao wrote down their orders and headed to the back to give them to the owner. It was all an accident, he didn’t mean to overhear the conversation. But he thought he heard his name?

“So, you both believe me now?” The shortest of the three men asked.

“Yes, I understand what you mean. We are running out of time. It’s already been four years since we were placed here.” The middle height man looked like he was beginning to panic.

“No need to panic Yixing, we know where Jongdae, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Jongin are.” The shorter man tried calming, Yixing was it?

“But what about the others? What about Minseok, Sehun, Luhan, and Zitao? We have no idea where to even begin looking.” Yixing sighed and ran his finger through his hair.

“Actually, I think I found Luhan. The other day the school district made us all go to the zoo and have a district-wide hang out. I think I saw him there, he disappeared before I could confirm it though.” The shorter man said calmly.

“Okay well, what about Sehun, Minseok, and Zitao then?” The tallest man asked quickly.

“I-I don’t know…” A crestfallen expression adorned the shorter man’s face. Zitao heard the small bell behind him signifying the order was ready. Grabbing it quickly he put the conversation out of his mind.

“Here you go, sir.” Zitao placed the drinks in front of all of them. He turned away to help another customer when a hand on his wrist stopped him. Zitao turned to see all three men staring at him with disbelief.

“Is there something else I can help you with sir?” Zitao innocently asked the man holding his wrist.

“Tao?!” The three men said in unison.

 

 

 

“Jongin, I really don’t want to talk about it.” Kyungsoo sighed. Their work had ended early and they were talking about the fight him and Baekhyun had.

“I’m sure he feels awful about it. I think it’s time you two talked it over.” Jongin pouted cutely. From the way Kyungsoo talked about Baekhyun it didn’t seem like he was that bad of a guy.

“I’ll go with you if you want?” Jongin suggested.

“You’d really go with me?” Kyungsoo stared the younger man down.

“Yeah! Meeting Byun Baekhyun would be so cool! I-I mean, fixing your friendship is obviously more important. We’re friends now, I just want you to be happy.” Jongin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Alright, we’ll both go.” Kyungsoo chuckled at his reaction. Despite the current personal feelings for the idol, he had to admit he was one good singer.

“Alright! Let’s go!” Jongin grabbed his and Kyungsoo’s bag and proceeded to push the older man out the door excitedly.

It didn’t take long to arrive back at the Entertainment company. Jongin looked around, he was so amazed. His own company was called Constellation Entertainment, which in his opinion was the weirdest name ever for an entertainment company. When he asked his manager, she shrugged her shoulders and told him their boss only hired stars. So, to gather them all under one room reminded him of a constellation. Jongin was sure their boss was on something.

He had only been in Red Entertainment once for an audition. It was so clean, everything looked spotless. The staff wore white a white uniform and they all nodded at him and Kyungsoo as they made their way to the idol sector of the building. The building looked like it could reach the sky, this building could be its own beacon if a part of it ever ran away from home and got lost. Kyungsoo told Jongin about his friend in the producing sector and about how Baekhyun avoided both the producing sector and the acting sector. Jongin understood considering how their friendship ended. He's quite surprised Baekhyun didn’t move companies completely.

After about an eternity of walking through the monstrous building, they finally made it to the idol sector. Kyungsoo nodded toward the lady at the desk and showed her his ID card. The woman pointed to Jongin as if asking ‘Is this kid with you?’ which Kyungsoo nodded to as well. She opened up the vast pristine door. Kyungsoo and Jongin walked down the hall briskly passing dance rooms and vocal practice rooms until they reached an elevator.

“If I remember correctly he lives on the fourth floor,” Kyungsoo said as he clicked on floor eight.

“Um, Kyungsoo?” He looked at the button that was pushed and back to Kyungsoo.

“Oh, the idols don’t technically live here, there’s a sky bridge that leads to the apartments. Baekhyun lives in a suite on the fourth floor.” Kyungsoo said quickly.

The elevator stopped and the two of them across the sky bridge and walked down the hallway of the second floor to another elevator. Kyungsoo pressed the button for the fourth floor and waited. When the door opened it blew Jongin’s mind. It looked like a completely different building, from what he could see only two four people lived on this whole floor. It looked so luxurious, nothing like the shady second floor looked like. Kyungsoo must have known what Jongin was thinking because he chuckled and patted Jongin on the back.

“Somehow the elevator we took only works for people that word at Red Entertainment. The second floor is kind of like a detour for crazy fans, a fake if you will. I’m not sure how it works, but it does.” Kyungsoo shrugged his shoulders and smiled. They walked down the long, white hallway to the last door on the right. Kyungsoo hesitated but eventually knocked against the door. They waited for a few minutes, but there was no answer. Kyungsoo kept trying, the person across the hall opened their door and watched the two with a toothbrush in her mouth.

“Are you two looking for Baekhyun?” She asked, interrupting Kyungsoo’s knocking.

“Yeah, is he not home yet,” Kyungsoo asked quickly.

“This isn’t his home anymore, I heard him yelling at his manager this morning. Apparently because of two people in the company he’s being transferred to a different Red Entertainment location.” She continued to brush her teeth as she talked.

“To a different location? Where?” Jongin asked the woman.

“I don’t know, I yelled at them to shut up, so I could sleep. They left this morning around five though.” The woman shrugged her shoulders and went back in to her home ignoring any other question they might have.


	11. Taozi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning There is mentions of experimentation, past abuse, bullying, explicit violence and explicit language. Do NOT read if you are uncomfortable with any of this. If you see that I missed something, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

“Tao?!” The three men said in unison.

“Yes, sir?” Zitao looked at the three men innocently. The middle height man took his hand off of Zitao’s wrist. He uncomfortably shifted on his feet.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything, sir.” Zitao smiled at the three men.

“Not at all, this is going to sound really weird, but we were actually looking for you. We wanted to ask some questions about what you do or what you want to do in the future. Junmyeon is a high school teacher conducting small interviews with young people in the workplace.” Yixing smiled at Zitao softly.

_Junmyeon… Kim Junmyeon?_

“Y-You wouldn’t happen to be, Kim Junmyeon?” Zitao asked quietly.

“Yeah, I am.” Junmyeon smiled gently.

“I-I’m sorry, I really have to get back to work…” Zitao smiled and started to back away. Before he could go too far, Junmyeon reached forward and gently grabbed his wrist. The world suddenly disappeared around him.

   

_“Kris!” Zitao ran up to the other boy, tears in his eyes._

_“What’s the matter Taozi?” Kris opened his arms to the younger boy, who jumped into his awaiting arms._

_“The mean ladies took me to the room with the box. They told me to use my ability or they were going bring Sehun in.” Tao squeezed Kris tightly._

_“Are you alright, what happened?” The nurses weren’t supposed to do any experiments other than the box. Unfortunately, the box was the “safest” experiment compared to the others._

_“I got stuck in time. It was so scary, nobody was moving, no one was talking or breathing… It was straight out of a nightmare…” Tao cried in Kris’s arms. As they got older their abilities became a little harder to control around the nurses. Now that Tao has shown his new ability, he is going to be targeted more often._

_“Don’t worry Taozi, nobody will hurt you as long as Junmyeon and I are here.” Tao felt safe in Kris’s arms. Junmyeon and Kris would keep them safe._

_Zitao and the others were waiting for their older brothers to come back. It was so boring in the room without all of them there. They were never allowed out of their bed unless it was for lunchtime. Then they have special chairs that they're allowed to walk to before they sit down for their meal. When he had that conversation with Kris that was the last time he had human contact, well technically… It was just him, Sehun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo._

_The nurses had come in earlier, a couple minutes after they took away the older boys and put some of the blue chemical (which Sehun now calls inferno, nobody really knows why…) and left. Now they are starting to feel the effects. He looked around to the others, Kyungsoo looks ready to fall asleep, Sehun and Jongin were already knocked out. Soon enough Tao’s world disappeared, he could only hear the environment around him. The sound of beds being wheeled in, the sound of struggling, the sound of people protesting, was his bed moving? He wasn’t even sure anymore. That was the last thing he thought before he was completely knocked out. He never heard Daesuk say these final words._

_“Soon the experiment will begin, wait for my order.”_

_“Hey, freak! What are you doing over there by yourself?” One of the bullies in his class kept throwing small paper balls at the back of his head. He would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt his feelings. He never felt like he fit in here. His parents weren’t even his real parents, he was adopted. He was eleven years old, but he feels older than that. He also felt like people were missing from his life. As the bullies behind him got their fill of picking on him for the day, he looked up to the sky. He was made for something else, something great, he just has to find it._

 

Zitao sat up breathless, his surroundings were familiar. He noticed the interior of the coffee shop, he looked down and saw his apron still around his waist. Someone was calling his name. He was surrounded by three men, they all looked very concerned. They all looked so familiar now.

“Taozi, are you alright?” Kris asked quickly.

“Y-Yeah, I’m alright.” Tao rubbed his head awkwardly.

“Do you remember anything Tao?” Yixing asked him calmly.

“I-I don’t know? What do you mean? I don’t understand?” Tao looked at the three men in front of him.

“Taozi, I know everything is really confusing right now. All that I ask is that you trust us. I know you don’t have any reason to trust us, but I am asking you to trust us.” Junmyeon reached forward slowly and placed his hand on top of his left hand.

Even though that strange text message was on his mind, these people didn’t seem to have any ill intent. Famous last words he guessed. But something about this just felt right. That feeling he felt when he was a child immediately vanished when he looked at the three men in front of him. It was like his heart knew these people, but his mind was telling him danger is currently closing in on him. Maybe, just this once, he could ignore the warning and follow his heart instead.

 

 

 

It was so cold, everything was numb. He couldn’t see or move. It seemed as if the whole world disappeared and he reappeared in a different version of hell. How did he get here? He couldn’t remember. The last he could remember was a man standing above him, then pain exploded all around him. How crime did he commit? Why does he have to suffer, here in this strange eternal prison? The man always talked about defeating the other “monsters” and making a safer world for all.

“These kids will thank me, I will be their hero.” The man talked to himself a lot.

Sometimes he thought the man was talking to him, but he could never reply. The man always showed him some blue liquid in a syringe. Soon he left tired and the man showed him another liquid, this one is red, it made him feel angry. He always knew when the man made him do something, but he could never remember what he did. Is there an end to all of this?

 

 

 

Kyungsoo felt awful, Baekhyun moved away. Of course, it was because of business reasons, but it felt so different just knowing Baekhyun wouldn’t be around. He walked down these halls, he felt empty. Although Baekhyun wasn’t dead or anything, it felt like he missed his chance to apologize. He walked down the halls to the producing sector, he needed a friend right now. Jongin wasn’t available at the moment, his model duties called to him.

Even if Chanyeol was busy, just being around someone is enough. Baekhyun helped him through some rough times and he never even gave him a chance. Kyungsoo knew about Baekhyun’s past and still, he felt he was unfair to Baekhyun. When they were trainees, all they had was each other. Now that he was thinking about it, he did kind of leave Baekhyun alone in this company. Although he never actually left the company, it was kind of abandoning Baekhyun. The company was so big that they never ran into each other. In order to see each other, they had to actually seek each other out, which they never did. Kyungsoo sighed as he walked into Chanyeol’s production room.

“Hey Kyungsoo, what’s up?” Chanyeol turned around and he stood up to greet Kyungsoo.

“Hey Chanyeol, what are you up to today?” Kyungsoo sighed and sat down on the little couch in the production room.

It was placed in here due to Baekhyun’s request, Chanyeol had a habit of sleeping in his production room when he was constantly working. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun would catch him sleeping on his equipment, so Baekhyun put in a request with the leader of the production department. Eventually, there was a couch for him to crash on. Chanyeol sat down next to him and waited for Kyungsoo to speak. Kyungsoo was the type of person that had to open up first before talking to anyone. 

“Remember how you told me that one day my chance to apologize would disappear? Well, it happened… Baekhyun had to leave this company location because his manager said so.” Kyungsoo sighed.

“Aw, I’m sorry Kyungsoo. On the bright side, we all still work for the same company. So, we’ll meet again. We have to because of company parties and gatherings.” Chanyeol smiled at Kyungsoo. That’s something Kyungsoo was always thankful for, Chanyeol always looked for the bright side of things. In a way he was right, they all work for the same company, so it’s not like they would never see each other again.

“How’s Jongin doing?” Chanyeol tried to change the subject to a happier one.

“He’s doing great! I have a hard time believing that this is his first acting job. He hardly needs any pointers, he’s a natural.” Kyungsoo chuckled when he thought about the younger actor.

“That’s great! He can model and be an actor. He apparently already knows the ropes.” Chanyeol chuckled.

“Jongin actually really wants to meet Baekhyun, funny enough.” Kyungsoo shook his head and took out his phone. He would text Baekhyun, but he no longer had the number because of his manager. Once Kyungsoo decided that the idol path wasn’t the one he wanted to take, his manager made them both erase each other’s numbers in front of him. Probably to make sure they both actually did it, then he was allowed to leave the idol sector and go to the acting sector to meet his new manager.

“Bring him by, I would love to meet him.” Chanyeol smiled and nodded at Kyungsoo.

 

 

 

Junmyeon noticed how hesitant Tao was, but with the calming nature Yixing had he seemed to be willing to listen at least. They all sat down at the table again, it was amazing that there weren’t any other workers that were currently on the floor. Junmyeon noticed that their coffees had a strange glow to them. Junmyeon looked closer at his own glass, there was a blue tint in the coffee cup. He quickly hit Yixing’s glass out of his hand.

“What? What did my coffee do to you?” Yixing complained softly.

“Do you remember that stuff they used to use on us?” Junmyeon asked quickly.

“Yeah?” Kris looked at the two remaining cups, he also noticed the blueish tint to it.

“Do you know who makes the coffee here?” Junmyeon asked quickly.

“No, they come out of a window to a room that the workers don’t have access to.” Tao shrugged his shoulders.

“How strange…” Yixing said more to himself.

“W-What was that? What happened when you grabbed my wrist?” Tao asked shakily.

“Taozi I promise I will tell you everything, but right now this place isn’t safe,” Junmyeon whispered to Tao. The waitress behind the snack counter looked at them threateningly, something that the others didn’t seem to notice. She had red eyes and a menacing glare.

“Taozi… I know you are at work right now, but we need to go. We’re in danger here.” Junmyeon said carefully. Tao still didn’t know what to do. He just met these men and literally the night before he received a text message saying stay away from one of these men, should he trust them?

“Taozi… I know this is a lot to take in, but we need to listen to Junmyeon okay?” Kris said to the younger boy gently. Junmyeon, Yixing, and Kris all stood up, they put the money on the table and waited for Tao to decide. The decision was made for him, however, the girl behind the snack counter walked to the front door and locked it. The boys watched as she pulled the blinds and switched the sign from open to close.

“Sungyeon, what are you doing? It’s not closing time yet.” Tao stood up and looked t his coworker carefully.

“I wish I could say that I’m sorry, but I’m not. I’m not capable of feeling sorrow or shame.” His coworker looked at him, her eyes seemed to glow with intimidation. The lights above them flickered and eventually shut off. Her glowing, beady eyes watched them carefully. Tao moved toward the older men, they were safe.

“I texted you Huang Zitao, I warned you.” Her voice shifted from sweet and soft to cold and dangerous. Suddenly the young girl started walking toward them, she pointed a gun at them. Zitao looked at the machine in front of him and the men next to them, she wasn’t focused on him but on them. They were going to get hurt, Tao didn’t care about how tough the three of them think they are. No one can beat a gun in a fight.

“Step away from Huang Zitao, Kim Junmyeon. The boss doesn’t appreciate your meddling.” The machine stated.

“Tell your boss that I will find the others, we will find him together and make him everything he has ever made us feel,” Junmyeon growled back.

“You’ve already lost.” The machine shrugged its shoulder and gave them a smile. Then a loud bang sounded throughout the coffee shop, the machine shot the gun.  


	12. Daesuk on the Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is explicit violence and language ahead. There is also scenes of physical torture. If any warnings are missing, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy~

Junmyeon and Kris turned to cover Yixing and Zitao. Time slowed down around them. The world seemed to stop. Zitao looked around, no one was moving. He looked toward the machine, the bullet she just shot hovered in the air. Just inches away from where they stood, the bullet hovered like an omen of death.

Zitao noticed he was the only one still moving. Kris and Junmyeon closed their eyes and waited for impact. Yixing had a frozen look of terror on his face. Zitao walked away from the scene and looked at the clock above the counter. Time wasn’t moving, he knows because he just changed the batteries in that clock this morning. Zitao looked back at the scene and worried about how much time he actually had.

He grabbed a glove that they had for the desserts and walked over to the bullet. Zitao gently maneuvered the bullet, he had no idea he could do this. As he used the power of time, the bullet flipped around with the movement of the time waves. Before he could even blink, time restarted. The bullet zipped forward and hit the machine. The machine exploded, they couldn’t block themselves fast enough from the blast. Zitao got the worst of the blast, it felt like his skin was melting off of his body. He thought he could hear someone yelling out his name, but the pain was just too much to take.

 

 

 

Yixing rushed forward and pushed Junmyeon and Kris away. He fell to his knees and gently rolled Zitao over on to his back. Thankfully he remembered about his abilities, these burns would need the hospital otherwise. Because of Zitao’s subconscious thinking, he saved them from that machine. He gently cupped Zitao’s face and closed his eyes.

 He didn’t worry about the fact it’s been a while since he has done this. Yixing opened his eyes and watched as the burns seemed to disappear. Almost as if they were never there in the first place. Yixing could hear Zitao’s heartbeat and the blood going through his veins. When he was done there wasn’t even a mark on his face. He turned around a motioned for Kris to come closer. Junmyeon helped him get Zitao on Kris’s back.

“We need to get somewhere safe, I live on the outskirts of town.” Yixing offered.

“Nobody knows where your house is?” Junmyeon asked quickly.

“Please, not even Kris knows where I live, even though he’s been there a lot.” Yixing rolled his eyes and glared at Kris.

“Are we really going to talk about my horrible memory right now.” Kris sighed and motioned to the boy on his back.

“You’re right we’ll talk about it later, let’s go.” They quickly went to their cars and headed to Yixing’s house.

 

 

 

Jongdae was so excited for work today, he had to come in later than usual to meet with the kid that shadowed him a couple days ago. The kid loved him so much that he “begged” his professor for another assignment. His professor agreed since he’s one of the best in his class. They were going to meet at the studio and go hang out. Technically it’s still shadowing, just a little bit more fun! As he walked in Sehun ran up to him immediately.

“Hey sir, thank you for letting me come back today.” Sehun smiled at him. This kid was adorable and Jongdae was so happy he was chosen to have a shadow.

“No problem Sehun, now let’s go have some fun.” Jongdae checked and checked out quickly.

“Have some fun?” Sehun wasn’t understanding this whole situation.

“Yeah! I had an early show today so I’m off for the rest of the day. I came in to do something, but now that I’m here I really don’t want to do it.” Jongdae chuckled and grabbed Sehun’s hand before the boss noticed what he was doing.

“Let’s go to the coffee shop down the road.” They both hopped into Jongdae’s car and headed to the famous coffee shop. Suddenly there were police cars everywhere, the coffee shop was covered in police tape and the windows were completely destroyed.

“Well… We’re not going to the coffee shop…. I can make some pretty good coffee, wanna go to my house?” Jongdae looked at Sehun.

“Yeah, I wanna go to your house! You’re like my idol man.” Sehun looked so excited. Jongdae chuckled and turned the car around to go to his home.

When they got there, Jongdae made some coffee for the two of them and then sat down. They talked about what Sehun wanted from his communications degree and what he wanted for his future. This kid was certainly ambitious, he wanted his own radio show just like Jongdae. It was adorable to see someone idolize him this much. They sat in Jongdae’s living room for about two hours when there’s a knock on the door.

“Excuse me, Sehun. I’ll be right back.” Jongdae stood up and walked over to the door and looked outside with the lock still on it.

“Hello?” Jongdae looked at the men outside of his room. They had tuxedo’s and sunglasses on, they all looked very official.

“Kim Jongdae?” The man in front asked.

“Who’s asking?” Jongdae asked

“Is Oh Sehun in there as well?” Another man asked, completely ignoring his question.

“I want to know who’s asking,” Jongdae said forcefully.

“Open the door.” The man in the very back demanded.

Suddenly all of the men rushed to the door and started slamming against. Jongdae jumped back and ran over to Sehun. He grabbed Sehun and put the kid behind him. The men rushed in and surround the two boys.

“J-Jongdae what’s going on?” Sehun asked hesitantly.

“I-I don’t know, but everything is going to be okay,” Jongdae said quickly.

The men stopped in front of them, suddenly they all pulled out gas masks. Jongdae turned around and tried to shield Sehun. His apartment was filled with dark blue smoke. The world disappeared around Jongdae, he heard Sehun drop behind him and he joined him after a few seconds. Before he completely knocked out he heard one last thing.

“Experiment zero-two-once and experiment zero-nine-four have been apprehended.”

 

 

 

Baekhyun looked around his new apartment, it really didn’t look any different than the one he left behind. Baekhyun sat down on his new bed and sighed. Was he overreacting to the Kyungsoo situation? He had no idea. His manager suddenly had a problem with him, which he still can’t pinpoint why. All he wanted to do was make music. Was it a crime to have a dream? He laid back and closed his eyes, he just wanted to rest. A harsh knock on his front door startled him out of his short slumber.

“Baekhyun! Let’s go, we have stuff to do!” Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

“Coming!” Baekhyun yelled back.

The manager wants him to make a completely new album in three weeks so that this move would seem like a publicity stunt. It was going to be a long day at the recording studio. As he quickly got dressed he started thinking about everything that’s happened, and how weird it all was. One day he’s just an idol, the next he’s getting thrown around like a rag doll. This hiccup in the road wasn’t going to stop him from living his dream. He’s worked way too hard to give up now. He opened the door a met with his manager.

“Now Baekhyun, I have some business to attend to, so I’m trusting you to get to your schedule on your own. Understand?” His manager looked at him like he was a kid again. Then his manager was off, Baekhyun went off to his own schedules on his own like he was told.

 

 

 

Zitao slowly began to wake up, immediately he noticed he was in an unfamiliar place. He was in a room with some medical equipment surrounding him. He got from the bed and took a step forward. Blinding pain shot through his skull as he remembered what happened at the coffee shop. He really hoped that wasn’t coming out of his paycheck. He’s already a broke college student he really didn’t need that expense as well.

Zitao stopped himself, he wasn’t sure that he was just a college student now. Those memories that he had when Junmyeon grabbed his wrist. The whole idea of stopping time like he did at the coffee shop it shouldn’t be real. Zitao walked out of the room and looked for the others. They were in the next room discussing their next course of action.

“H-Hey…” Zitao called out to the others. The three men turned. Yixing stood up and rushed over to him.

“How do you feel? Are you alright? Does anything hurt?” Yixing grabbed a hold of his face and turned it to see if anything was wrong.

“N-No, I’m alright.” Zitao gently pushed Yixing away.

“Relax Yixing, leave the poor boy alone.” Kris rolled his eyes teasingly.

“You must have questions.” Junmyeon smiled gently at Tao.

“Yeah, I have a lot of questions…” Zitao let himself be pulled by Yixing to one of the couches.

“It’s going to sound absolutely insane, but we really need you to trust us-“ Junmyeon began.

“Let me stop you there. I just watched one of my coworkers turn into a killing machine, she pointed a gun at us, and I stopped time and made the bullet face the other direction. There is nothing that you can say right now that I would not believe.” Zitao interrupted him.

“Y-You stopped time already?” Yixing was a little jealous that Zitao could use his power right away when it took him a while to figure it out.

“I-I don’t know, when I saw you three on the other side of a gun I got scared and I felt like I had to do something. Suddenly all of time stopped around me and I was able to switch the path of the bullet. Please, if you can, tell me everything that’s going on.” Zitao plead with the three men in front of him.

 

 

 

Jongdae slowly woke up with a horrible headache. He started to panic when he remembered everything that happened. Jongdae looked around, he was tied to a bed. He was dressed in a pristine white outfit, he looked around the room and saw Sehun on the other side. He was also in the room with Jongdae, or so he thought. Sehun was also wearing a pristine white outfit, the number 94 adorned the collar of his shirt.

“S-Sehun?” Jongdae called out softly. A that he had never seen before walked in.

“You got here quickly, Sir.” A robotic woman’s voice said.

“H-Hey what’s going on? Why are Sehun and I here?” The two people completely ignored Jongdae.

“I never really left, don’t ask me how I did it. It’s a long story.” The man shook his head.

“Shall we begin the first set of experiments on experiment zero-two-one and zero-nine-four?” The robotic woman asked.

“Yes, let’s begin.” The man smiled gently.

Suddenly Sehun started convulsing as if he was being shocked, Jongdae wanted to yell out to them but it was getting harder and harder to breathe in his own room. The man watched the two of them with a sickening smile.

“Oh, I missed how you boys work. I miss watching you all fear for your lives.” The man said as Jongdae choked because of the lack of oxygen while Sehun screamed as he was shocked to hell and back. The man watched the two boys suffer with a smile on his face.

“Sir, experiment zero-zero-four is calling you.” The robotic woman stopped everything, and the two boys gasped as they were finally able to breathe.

“Alright, call in experiment zero-nine-nine in and put these two on ‘pause’” The man used air quotes along with his words and started to walk out of the experimentation room and he made his way to the elevator.

A man walked into Jongdae’s room. This man had on an outfit just like him and Sehun. Suddenly the room was so cold. Jongdae felt his whole body go numb, he couldn’t breathe. It was too cold. Jongdae looked at the man and the last thing he saw was glowing red eyes, then there was nothing.  


	13. Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter has mentions of kidnapping, and murder. This chapter also has scenes of physical and slight mental torture. Do NOT read if you are not comfortable with any of these things. If anything is missing under the warning, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy!

_"I don’t understand why you want a coffee shop of all things?” The man shook his head at his friend’s request._

_“You owe me, I’ve helped you and your family so much in the past. All I’m asking is that you make plans for a coffee shop, I will take care of everything else.” The friend plead with his friend._

_“Alright, alright, I will inform my wife and begin the plans for the coffee shop. I need to take care of my boy. He’s been very sick; my wife probably doesn’t care about anything we do. She has been with my boy ever since he got sick.” The man sat down on his friend’s couch, worry about his son taking over his mind._

_“My friend I know this is very hard for you. I promise that your contribution to this shop will help you and your wife relax a little bit. You won’t have to worry about money ever again, and your wife makes tremendous coffee. There is no way this shop can fail.” His friend sat next to him and rubbed his back gently._

_“I’m trusting you, Daesuk.” The man looked at Daesuk seriously, the other man just smiled gently._

_“Listen I can’t sugar coat this Jongsoo. Your son isn’t going to make it.” Daesuk held his friend’s hand._

_“I know, but please don’t let me wife know. Let her be happy for a little while longer.” Jongsoo sighed._

_“Listen, Jongsoo, this plan of mine will work. You will have a new son soon enough. You and your wife will be happy again. The hurt will always be there though, nothing can stop that. But soon there will be a new life in your lives.” Daesuk smiled at his grieving friend._

_“This boy, you said he is from the other planet?” Jongsoo asked, still a little afraid how what that might mean._

_“His powers will be nothing to worry about, memories will be implanted into his mind. It’ll be like he was always human.” Daesuk smiled excitedly._

_“What is his name again?” Jongsoo looked almost happy again._

_“Minseok.”_

_“Where is this son you promised us? We opened the coffee shop just as you wanted, where is Minseok? Where is the son you promise us?” Jongsoo smashed his fist against the wall._

_“There has been an unforeseen issue. The experiments have escaped, but not to worry my forces are on their tail. Minseok will join your family soon.” Daesuk smiled gently and offered his friend._

_Daesuk shook his head, he sat on his couch and drank his coffee. He ignored the smell of iron that went around his house. Jongsoo and his wife lay dead at his feet. Daesuk chuckled and stood up. All they had to do was listen to him and they might have had their happy ending. Now Minseok will “grow up” without parents. It was easy enough to program. Daesuk wasn’t worried. He remembered all those years ago when he first mentioned the coffee shop. The main reason he wanted that stupid coffee shop was for a front, and so far, it has worked perfectly. This plan is going to work._

_A few “years” had passed and Daesuk walked into the famous little coffee shop down the street of Red Entertainment. Baekhyun would be debuting soon and so far, everything seemed normal. The tabs on all the boy were normal, they were all happy. This is what he wanted, this experiment was going perfectly. The rumors about Minseok and the coffee shop were hilarious and somehow not completely wrong. His parents were killed, and he did make the coffee all by himself. Or he did, Daesuk saw potential in Minseok. One day he took Minseok to the basement, telling him there was an answer to his parent’s mysterious deaths._

_Once he was there, Daesuk powered up the small facility he had built underneath the coffee shop. Minseok continued to ask questions like the naive child Daesuk made him to be. He grabbed some gloves and his lab coat. Daesuk almost forgot about the gas mask. He chuckled, that would have been disastrous. He flicked the switch when his gas mask was secure. The dark blue gas started to fill the room. The doors locked and secured the area, so the customers above wouldn’t be affected. Daesuk watched as Minseok slowly began to lose consciousness. Daesuk rolled his eyes when Minseok hit his head on the side of one of the tables. Let experiment zero-nine-nine begin._

_Soon after the adjustment he made to Minseok, he worked on a couple of robots he had stashed away. One stopped working and the other was able to be turned on. He worked with the one that was online and turned it into Sungyeon. When Minseok woke up Daesuk told him he was deathly ill. Now that he was better he could go back to running the shop. However, things were different. He no longer wanted to see people, he demanded that a room be built on where he could make his coffee in peace and send it out to the waiters without ever having to see them. The experiment was a success._

_Shortly, the boys all came to the shop, they loved the coffee their older brother makes. It’s no wonder that they would all line up here like sitting ducks. He started ordering Sungyeon to place small dissolvable versions of the dark blue chemical into certain orders. This order kept coming in and eventually, she understood the order without being told. One of the orders were misplaced and one of Junmyeon’s orders didn’t have the dark blue chemical in it. That was the start of everything going wrong. That day Junmyeon had a graduation to go to, then, later on, he was in a car accident with Kris. As soon as they saw each other Junmyeon was able to remember._

_The second the two men made eye contact, the chemical was reversed due to the connection the two of them share. During one of the projects, the twelve of them were separated into six. Changing their chemical makeup and making them identical. Any sort of pain one member of the party may feel, the other would feel it just as bad simultaneously. Because of the strong bond Junmyeon and Kris share, all of the work was immediately dismissed. Daesuk knew when the two boys met that they were meant to be. In a word they were soulmates. He needed to find a way to change this, “soulmate” nonsense. But that experiment would come later, right now Daesuk was pissed off. How could Junmyeon find both Kris and Yixing so quickly? Daesuk needed to stop this._

_When his boys brought Jongdae and Sehun down to the makeshift lab under the coffee shop. The underground facility was well stocked. Daesuk ordered for Jongdae and Sehun to be strapped in. He ordered for experiment zero-two-one and experiment zero-nine-four to begin. Experiment zero-nine-four was going to be shocked until he was unconscious while experiment zero-two-one was going to suffocate. The results were not going to be immediate, but he enjoyed watching the two of them lose all hope. They didn’t even know why they were here. Jongdae asked a question but they were all ignored._

_Experiment zero-nine-nine walked into the room that held experiment zero-nine-four. Daesuk ordered him to encase the younger one in a block of ice. The nurse that he programmed after Sungyeon’s explosion placed an oxygen mask that could withstand the extreme cold. Soon enough the experiment zero-nine-four was completely encased, the only thing that indicated that he was still alive was the small movement of his chest and the small puffs of breath against the ice. Once experiment zero-nine-four was secure, he orders experiment zero-nine-nine to do the same thing to his pair. This would be interesting._

_Experiment zero-nine-nine began encasing experiment zero-two-one. The result was fascinating. It went smoothly in the beginning. When the ice no longer needed experiment zero-nine-nine for guidance, it continued on its path. Experiment zero-nine-nine watched as his pair was completely encased, suddenly he was on his knees. Trying to scream, he scratched at his throat. It was a delayed reaction from experiment zero-two-one being suffocated. Daesuk walked in with a smirk, a syringe ready for experiment zero-nine-nine. Everything was still going according to plan._

 

Junmyeon, Kris, Zitao, and Yixing all made it to the home in the outskirts. They didn’t make it ten feet before Yixing suddenly collapsed. He convulsed like he was constantly being shocked. The boys dropped to his aid in a panic. Yixing was their healer, who do you call when the healer needs healing? They were all slightly freaking out. Yixing gasped as he sat up, unintentionally knocking his head again Zitao’s.

“Junmyeon!” Yixing looked at the other man with complete panic.

“What? What’s wrong Yixing? What happened?” Junmyeon grabbed Yixing’s hand and held it tightly.

“They have Sehun. I-I don’t know how I know, but they have him. They're hurting him.” Yixing began to cry, thinking about little Sehun being tortured by these people. He probably had no idea about anything, he probably didn’t even know who he really was.

“Yixing, we’ll find him. We’ll figure this out, but right now we don’t even know where he is. We have to stay calm.” Although Junmyeon was also worried for the younger, he needed to stay rational.

 

 

 

Baekhyun finished what he could and waited for Daesuk for the stuff he couldn’t do on his own. He technically wasn’t allowed to drive anymore… One incident and suddenly he wasn’t allowed to be behind a wheel of a real vehicle. Baekhyun felt like a child sometimes, it was all Daesuk’s fault. His manager treats him like he was only five years old.

Daesuk makes most of his decisions if he gets to eat when he gets to sleep, who he can and cannot talk to. All of those decisions are made by Daesuk. He sat there at the company and just waited. Daesuk looked at his watch, it was near five in the evening and Daesuk still wasn’t back. At this point, if he didn’t make it to the schedule it was his manager’s fault. Baekhyun was not taking credit for this one.

“Baekhyun! Let’s go, we are going to be late!” Daesuk growled throughout the company intercom. Baekhyun hopped up and headed on his way out the door. 

“Sorry Baekhyun, I totally forgot that you are no longer allowed to drive anywhere.” Daesuk shook his head and quickly put the car into drive when Baekhyun got in. They had to be at the radio station in less than twenty minutes.

“I deserve a reward for not attempting to drive anywhere.” Baekhyun smiled at Daesuk, who did not look amused.

“Fine, what do you want.” Daesuk rolled his eyes.

“Coffee, from my favorite coffee shop.” Baekhyun smiled brightly.

“Baekhyun you don’t live by the coffee shop anymore. You need to find a different place.” Daesuk sighed.

“But I love the coffee from there…” Baekhyun pouted in his seat as they got to the radio shop.

“Baekhyun, go in there do what you need to do, and I will have a coffee waiting for you, alright?” Daesuk put the car in park and waited for Baekhyun to hop on out.

“Deal.” Baekhyun nodded and hopped out of the car happily.

Daesuk headed off to park the car without Baekhyun knowing. He knew Baekhyun would want more coffee, so he grabbed one from a local coffee shop and put a dissolvable into it. It looked like the coffee Baekhyun used to enjoy. It would serve the same purpose and Baekhyun wouldn’t know the difference. Everything was definitely going well for Daesuk.

As long as one was missing, he would win. Daesuk’s experiment would be complete as long as one was still with him. That’s all he needed, one out of twelve. If this experiment succeeds, then the boys would be able to live happily. Even though they have found each other now, if Junmyeon didn’t find all twelve it would be like they never existed. They might say hi to each other on the street, but they would never remember. They would finally have normal lives.


	14. Oh "Deer"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter includes kidnapping, physical torture, and seizures. If I missed anything, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Junmyeon was stressed out, they had been hiding out for three days in Yixing’s house. Zitao regained his memories a lot quicker than any of them. When Junmyeon asked about his ability to regain memories and the only response he got was “time”. Their powers were not a part of them, they were a part of their powers. Back on Exoplanet, the keepers of time never aged. When they were eventually forgotten, as more keepers of time are born, they simply disappear.

His element helped him remember faster than the others were capable of doing. Two days after Yixing announced to them that Sehun was taken, there was breaking news on the television. Not only did Daesuk get Sehun but now Jongdae is missing as well. Daesuk seemed to be moving faster than them, it’s like he was always watching. Junmyeon sighed and walked into the living room where the others were. Yixing was trying to make a plan to find everybody and he was getting frustrated.

“Minseok and Luhan are the only ones that we are not completely aware of,” Yixing whispered to himself.

“Zitao and Kris are going to check on the Zoo again. I just… I know I saw him at the Zoo.” Junmyeon sighed and sat down next to Yixing. The whole house was quiet now that Zitao and Kris were out of the house. Yixing leaned against Junmyeon who held him.

“At least we have made progress.” Junmyeon tried to bring light into the situation.

“What’s the progress?” Yixing shook his head and sighed.

“Well, you’re not yelling at Kris and me anymore. We found Zitao, and we know where almost everybody is.” Junmyeon smiled at Yixing.

“Well come on, who flirts with the man that almost killed them? You two are crazy.” Yixing shook his head and chuckled.

“Hey, I was dying. I wanted to live a little.” Junmyeon joked and shrugged.

Suddenly the two of them jumped out of their places with fright. A loud sound came from outside. It sounded like Yixing’s car but then there was a really loud slamming sound, which they assumed to be one of the doors. There was also some yelling and suddenly the door was kicked down. Kris and Zitao came in quickly holding a struggling figure in between the both of them.

The figure was tied down and had tape over their mouth. This figure was struggling, and muffled screaming could be heard. Kris held the figure down while Zitao ran to close the door. Yixing and Junmyeon quickly ran over to where they were. Junmyeon was immediately disappointed. Kris was holding down a crying Luhan.

“Kris, what have you done.” Junmyeon used his angry mother voice and Kris looked up sheepishly.

“We found him?” Kris smiled gently and patted the terrified Luhan on the head.

“I told you to look for him, **_NOT_** kidnap him!” Junmyeon pushed Kris off of Luhan and Yixing helped Luhan up. As Yixing calmly talked to Luhan, Junmyeon was staring at Kris and Zitao letting them know they were in big trouble. Yixing took Luhan upstairs to one of the bedrooms and untied him.

“You kidnapped him?!” Junmyeon glared at the two of them and shook his head.

“Hey, no one saw us do it.” Kris sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and smiled.

“What happened?” Junmyeon wasn’t having any of it.

 

 

 

 

“Why are we going to the Zoo again?” Zitao groaned and leaned back in his seat.

“Because Junmyeon said that’s where he saw Luhan last,” Kris answered simply.

“No, that’s where Junmyeon said he thought he saw Luhan.” Zitao sighed.

“What are we going to do if we find him?” Zitao asked after a few minutes.

“I don’t know, we’ll see if he’s there and figure it out on the way.” Kris shrugged his shoulders. Trying to find a parking spot at the zoo was a nightmare. It took an hour to park the car. Both of them were already annoyed.

“This zoo is huge; do you want to split up and look that way?” Zitao looked at Kris curiously.

“Yeah, we’ll meet back at the gift shop.” Kris nodded and headed off on his way. They were both sweating as they looked for Luhan, it took over two hours to get around the whole zoo and end up back at the gift shop. They both sighed and walked into the gift shop for air conditioning when they heard it.

“Thank you, sir, for donating. Have a great day.” Kirs and Tao looked at each other and slowly turned around. There he was in all his glory, Luhan.

“You mean to tell me, he was here the whole damn time,” Kris growled under his breath.

“Luhan! It’s time for your lunch break!” A woman’s voice called from the back of the gift shop.

“Go before you get caught helping in the gift shop again.” The woman dismissed him. Luhan smiled and headed out of the gift shop. Zitao grabbed Kris’s hand and froze time. The two of them looked for something to detain Luhan with.

“Yixing has a rope in his trunk?” Kris offered.

“Why does Yixing have a rope in the trunk of his car?” Zitao asked while Kris picked up the frozen Luhan.

“I have no idea, I just know it’s there because he told me one time and he never took it out of his car.” Kris shrugged his shoulders and headed out the door quickly. By the time they made it back to the car and tied the rope as tight as they could, the world started moving again.

“Hey! What the hell?!” Luhan yelled out and struggled against the restraints. Zitao panicked and noticed some duct type that just happened to be there, he quickly shut Luhan up and Kris closed the back-seat door before anybody could see.

“Well, that was surprisingly quick and easy.” Zitao smiled at Kris, who rolled his eyes.

“Yeah but now we have to get him back Yixing’s house without him kicking out the windows.” Kris sighed. They both hopped in the car and sped back to Yixing’s house without getting pulled over.

 

 

 

Junmyeon stared at Kris like he had an alien on his head. He could hear the angry Luhan talking Yixing upstairs. Kris and Zitao just shuffled uncomfortably on their heels as Junmyeon stared them down. Junmyeon looked like Zitao had frozen just him. It was clear that he was upset with the way they chose to handle the situation.

“I don’t even want to deal with you two right now, go to separate corners and stay quiet.” Junmyeon’s habits got the better of him.

“You’re sending us to timeout?” Kris asked, a little surprised.

“Yes, because you kidnapped someone!” Junmyeon yelled out, this was too much for him.

“How come Daesuk gets to kidnap people, but the second I do it’s wrong?” Kris yelled back.

“Go to your corner, right now,” Junmyeon growled, it startled Kris and Zitao. They weren’t used to Junmyeon being scary. They decided that it would be better to just go to their corners. Junmyeon walked up the stairs and could hear Yixing still trying to calm Luhan down. He walked in and Luhan was very upset to see him.

“What now that your goons got me here, it’s time for torture right? Come at me! I won’t go down without a fight!” Luhan put up his fists while Yixing tried to calm him down again.

“Luhan, what they did was wrong. That’s not what I asked them to do. Nobody in this house is going to hurt you.” Junmyeon walked closer to Luhan and gently placed his palms on Luhan’s clenched fists. Junmyeon noticed that his uniform had long sleeves.

“Why do you have long sleeves on? It’s so hot out today…” Junmyeon’s curiosity got the better of him.

“I got into an accident a couple day ago. My arms are all burned up. Why does it matter to you?” Luhan growled, still trying to seem tough. Hearing this, Yixing immediately walked over and looked at Luhan closely. There were some burns on the side of his neck, Yixing gently pushed on of the sleeves up. There were more burns on his arms. In the exact same place, Zitao had them, after Sungyeon’s demise. Yixing gently pulled Luhan over and sat him on the bed.

“I am a doctor, you can trust me.” Yixing smiled gently at Luhan, who was finding it difficult to be angry with Yixing.

He ordered Luhan to close his eyes and thankfully he did. Yixing gently cupped his older brothers face and took a deep breath. It takes more energy to heal things that have been left for a couple of days. It was clear that Luhan didn’t go to the hospital. This made Yixing upset, these were really bad burns. He will have to yell at Luhan later.

It took a little over twenty minutes before everything was healed. Both Luhan and Yixing were exhausted. Junmyeon caught Yixing before he hit the floor when he knees buckled. Junmyeon gently set Yixing on the floor and very carefully scooted Luhan over. The bed was big enough for the two of them, he gently picked Yixing up and placed him next to Luhan on the bed. He slowly walked out of the room, only stopping to look at the two once more and closed the door quietly. Junmyeon walked downstairs, immediately angry again. Kris and Zitao were out of their corners messing around.

“Get back in your corners and stay quiet. Luhan and Yixing are resting.” Junmyeon snapped. The two quickly rushed back to their corners and sat down on the floor. Junmyeon sighed and shook his head.

 

 

 

Jongin and Kyungsoo couldn’t believe it. They were supposed to go on the Chen show today to promote their movie. Then breaking news shot across their television, “Kim Jongdae, also known by his radio persona Chen, was reported missing. The police are looking into this case and we will give you information as we receive it.” The lady on the television didn’t even look concerned. Their managers walked in and gave them a script for a different radio show. The two of them looked at each other and sighed. Kyungsoo saw how sad Jongin looked, he knew how to cheer him up.

“Do you want to go see if Chanyeol is doing anything?” Kyungsoo asked Jongin lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Yeah!” Jongin jumped up like a little puppy dog.

“Alright, let’s go see Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo stood up and followed Jongin out the door.

 

 

 

Luhan woke up slowly, the first thing he noticed was the unfamiliar room he was in. He sat up with panic, he slowly started remembering everything up until now. He had the strangest dream while he was out. It was both unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. What was going on? He slowly tried to remember the dream he had.

_“Luhan!” He turned around and notice that Sehun and Jongin were beating each other up with Zitao running at him with panicked eyes._

_“What’s going on?” They had been on the run for a couple of weeks and the two youngest seemed to want to kill the other._

_“Sehun said something mean to Jongin and Jongin snapped.” Zitao was a little out of breath but still managed to explain the situation. Luhan shook his head and sighed. He looked at the two youngest and separated them with his abilities without batting an eye. He ignored the two shocked sounds of protest and brought them closer to him._

_“Honestly, you two are too old to be fighting. We are on the run, do you two understand what that means?” Luhan looked at both of them with disappointment._

_“Yeah…” They both said in unison._

_“So why do you continue to fight? Do you want me to tell Junmyeon?” Luhan asked them seriously._

_“P-Please don’t tell Junmyeon! He’s going to put us in the corner again!” Sehun always hated the corner. It made him feel inferior._

_“I want you two to apologize, right now.” Luhan gently set the two boys down and watched them apologize to each other. Luhan sighed and watch as the three youngest ran off to go find the others._

_“Luhan!” He whipped around as much as he could and watched as Junmyeon and Minseok are rolled into the room. All three of them were strapped down._

_“Luhan, are you alright?” Minseok asked Junmyeon and Minseok were nervous although they were all in danger right now Luhan looked more afraid than ever._

_“You promised! You promised if I cooperated you would leave my brothers alone.” Luhan struggled against his own restraints._

_“Did we? I don’t remember agreeing to that request.” The robotic nurse tilted her head slightly. Before Luhan could say anything else, the robotic nurse placed a silencing mask on Minseok and Junmyeon. As soon as they were strapped down and watching Luhan the nurse walked over to Luhan and placed two small electrodes on either side of his head. Junmyeon and Minseok’s eyes widened, they struggled harder against their restraints. Luhan saw he activate the machine and suddenly electricity shot through the electrodes in his head._

Yixing walked in and dropped the food he brought for Luhan. He screamed for Junmyeon and rushed to Luhan. He collapsed next to Luhan and held his head and put it in his lap. Luhan was convulsing, his eyes were rolled in the back of his head. From downstairs he heard Junmyeon yelling for him. Junmyeon rushed into the room.

“Something’s wrong with Tao-“ Junmyeon stopped when he saw Yixing helping Luhan.

“What’s going on downstairs with Tao?” Yixing was timing the seizure for medical safety.

“The same thing that’s happening here, Kris is downstairs with Tao in his lap,” Junmyeon said out of breath. The seizure stopped after about 20 minutes. Yixing sighed and looked at Junmyeon tiredly.

“What are we going to do?” Yixing leaned against his older brother close to tears, everything felt like it was falling apart.


	15. Sehunnie~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is mentions of kidnapping, abuse, and mental torture in this chapter. Do not read if you don't like these tags in this warning. Please let me know if I missed anything in the warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!~

Luhan and Zitao were still asleep, recovering from the seizures they had. Not only did Junmyeon have to tend to them, Kris had to be around Yixing all the time in case something started happening with Sehun. They need to figure out something, quick. Without Jongdae around they had no access to Jongin, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun. Junmyeon kept checking on Zitao and Luhan, just in case something went wrong. Kris was with, the still unconscious Yixing, waiting for him to wake up from his nap. Yixing didn’t want to wake up right away, he was trying to use the pair connection. Although the pair creation was against their will, if Luhan was unable to communicate with all of them, they could use it to communicate with their own pair.

Yixing made his way through the mental waves getting closer to Sehun. The younger was unconscious, Yixing could tell by the calmness of his mental waves. When a person was awake the mental waves between the two pairs would burst into action letting the other know that his pair wants to communicate. The mental bond they shared turned into a place. It was a beautiful meadow. This meadow was special to Sehun, it was the last place he saw his parents on Exoplanet. Even though it held such sad memories, it made Sehun feel content and calm.

He walked around the meadow looking for Sehun. The grass was gently blowing with the soft breeze, Yixing could have sworn it was leading him somewhere. He followed the breeze as it leads him through this calm field. The sky became dark as he walked. Clouds began merging together, forming a funnel. It then began to descend from the sky. Although nothing seemed to be disturbed by this newly made monster. It wasn’t destroying anything, the trees stood strong and the beauty of the land never faded. Yixing continued on his path, even though everything in his mind was telling him to stay away, he wasn’t afraid of the scenery in front of him. A small six-year-old stood in front of the monstrous tornado. It was a small version of Sehun.

“Sehun?” Yixing called out gently.

“Xing!” The small Sehun turned around and hopped over happily.

“Look at what I made Xing!” Sehun pointed at the whole tornado.

“I see Sehun, it’s a very nice piece of destruction.” Yixing knelt down to his knees to be the same height as the small Sehun.

“Xing, when are you gonna find me?” The small child turned around and looked at him with big, round eyes.

“What do you mean Sehun?” Yixing held out his hand for the younger kid.

“The mean man took Dae and me away, when will you find us? Minmin is here too, you know.” Sehun tilted his head and placed his smaller hand in Yixing’s.

“Minmin, Dae… Minseok and Jongdae? Can you tell me anything about where you are Sehunnie?” Yixing placed his hands gently on Sehun’s small shoulders.

“I’m not sure… I remember being with Dae, there was a sweet smell and then there was nothing. I hid here while the mean men started messing with Dae and I. I stay here, where it’s safe.” The small Sehun shook his head.

“What kind of smell, do you remember anything distinctive about it?” Yixing felt ridiculous as he asked these questions to the small six-year-old.

“Relax, I’m not actually six. I reverted to this form because although I was taken away from home it was the happiest day of my life.” Sehun shrugged his shoulders.

“Why? If you’re not six mentally why do you keep calling me Xing?” Yixing crossed his arms and looked at the small child.

“Because I got to meet all of you, and I call you Xing because when I am in this form it just feels right.” Sehun smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, Sehun tell me what the sweet aroma was.” Yixing rolled his eyes at the child.

“I-I don’t know, it was like when Minmin would make coffee in the morning, but with a hint of a medical scent from the bad place.” Sehun sighed and looked around the meadow.

“The coffee shop? Do you know if it was the coffee shop?” Yixing asked Sehun quickly.

“I really don’t know, I panicked and came here where I knew I could be safe.” Sehun shook his head and looked at the tornado he created.

“Sehun, we will find you three. I promise you, we will find you and get you away from Daesuk.” Yixing started to panic as the meadow around him started to fade.

“We know, see you soon Xing.” Sehun turned around and waved happily as his older brother started to disappear.

Yixing sat up quickly, he looked around and noticed that he was in the same bed as his older brother. He doesn’t remember how he got there, but he turned and checked on Luhan. He wanted to make sure everything was okay physically. Junmyeon walked in with some food and noticed that Yixing was awake.

“Hey Yixing, nice to see that you are finally awake,” Junmyeon said with a smile.

“Junmyeon, we need to talk. Where are Kris and Tao?” Yixing asked quickly.

“Downstairs, why what’s wrong?” Junmyeon did get an answer. Instead, he got pushed toward the stairs.

 

 

 

Minseok waited for the boss to return. Every once and a while the boss would turn off the robots and would trust him to watch the prisoners. It was boring, but it was his job. The two boys looked younger than him, and they both slept peacefully. One boy in particular grabbed his attention though. The boy with blond hair. Every time he got hurt, Minseok could feel it. Every time he felt sad or anger, Minseok could feel it. He didn’t like it; this boy was dangerous because he doesn’t listen to the boss. If he listened to the boss, then the two of them would be hurt all the time. Every time the boss left for a little bit, Minseok would watch the boy with the blond hair. One time the boy was having a nightmare. The second his heart rate started beating fast, so did Minseok’s. So, he walked into the room and tried to calm him by running his fingers through the boy’s hair. It seemed to help. The boss didn’t like to have the two subjects frozen all the time, it was nice to see him without the icy prison. Minseok scoffed and walked away from the boy, why would he care? They are just experiments after all.

 

 

 

Chanyeol, Jongin, and Kyungsoo needed to find a different hang out spot. The old coffee shop exploded overnight apparently. The police haven’t released a statement on it yet. The two of them decided that a small pastry shop down the road would do just fine. The girls that worked there gave them discounts. Sometimes being famous had perks.

“What are you doing today, Chanyeol?” Jongin asked things felt off lately. Jongin and Kyungsoo weren’t called into work very much anymore because the director was ill.

“I have to go to the doctor. There are these bruises that just keep popping up all over the place and I have no idea where they are coming from.” Chanyeol sighed. He removed his sunglasses to show the others this huge bruise over his left eye.

“Oh my god, Chanyeol. Are you being abused or something?” Kyungsoo asked quickly.

“No, that’s just the thing. I’m not, but it looks like it. You’re the ninth person to ask me today.” Chanyeol sighed and put his sunglasses back on.

“They’re everywhere.” He pulled up his sleeves to show off a couple more bruises painting his skin.

“I don’t think things like this just… Appear?” Kyungsoo gently touched one and Chanyeol acted like Kyungsoo just burned him.

“I know, I’m hoping it’s not too serious. But then again how can something like this not be serious.” Chanyeol sighed and covered his arms again.

 

 

 

Baekhyun locked himself in his room. Tears fell down his fast almost creating a lake down his cheeks. Daesuk was upset. Baekhyun wasn’t feeling good, he was late to almost everything today. Daesuk threatened him, his family… He beat him like a punching bag and then left. He didn’t even check to see if Baekhyun was okay. Daesuk told Baekhyun that he wasn’t allowed to come out of his room today. He doesn’t understand what went so wrong? He knows that it’s bad to be late to appointments, but it really wasn’t his fault. Car accidents, traffic jams, and he felt like his going to vomit all day. These were things Baekhyun couldn’t control. Was his dream worth all of this abuse?

 

 

 

As Yixing explained everything to Junmyeon, Kris, and Zitao, they smiled when they heard Sehun and Jongdae were waiting. It was nice to know that the youngest has so much confidence in them. Sehun was going to have the laugh of his life when he finally heard how Kris and Junmyeon met. Zitao stopped Yixing from speaking any further. There were noises upstairs, Luhan was awake. Suddenly there was running footsteps coming down the stairs. A frantic Luhan appeared in the living room looking around until his gaze stopped on Zitao. The older man flung himself at Zitao and hugged him tightly. Luhan started crying and asking Zitao if he was alright. The rest of the men in the room were really confused.

“Luhan, Luhan! I’m alright! Do you know who we are? What’s the matter?” Zitao tried getting his older brother off of him, he needed Junmyeon’s help. They then lead the sad Luhan to the couch and sat him down.

“I’m sorry I forgot about you! I’m sorry, I’m a horrible older brother.” Luhan bawled.

“Luhan, relax. You didn’t have control over it. What matters now is that you are here. You remember.” Yixing sat next to Luhan and rubbed his back gently.

“No… You don’t understand…” Luhan recalled the memory that he had while he was unconscious.

_“Now Luhan, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way.” Daesuk shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the two boys in front of Luhan._

_One of them was Zitao and the other was Sehun.  The test was simple: Break one, of he’ll kill one. Luhan was forced to choose. He chose Zitao, Sehun was the youngest, he knows Zitao would have killed him for taking this long to decide. They all love their youngest brother so much, the fact that it took Luhan this long to decide would send him into shun territory with all of his brothers. Luhan took a breath and focused his energy on Zitao. He forced Zitao, telepathically, to use his time ability. But suddenly Daesuk told him to stop. He stopped controlling Zitao’s actions. Considering Zitao was currently unconscious, this meant he couldn’t continue the action with Luhan’s guidance. Daesuk trapped Zitao in time and expected him to get out all on his own. When Luhan realized what Daesuk had planned, he tried to help Zitao. Daesuk saw Luhan trying to help by the increased brain wave activity and decided to knock him unconscious with electricity. Zitao was on his own._

Luhan started crying again after he retold the memory. Zitao wasn’t angry, the only reason he would get angry is if Luhan had chosen Sehun instead. Yixing hugged Luhan until he stopped crying and Junmyeon came in with some water for Luhan. Kris was just surprised that Luhan still felt bad about that, considering it happened a while ago. Luhan calmed down and looked at the others.

“Have you found anyone else?” Luhan asked hopefully.

“We know where they are, we just can’t get to them. But now that you are here, we might be able to defeat Daesuk faster than he ever expected.” Junmyeon smiled. Luhan could talk to the others, although it might make them feel crazy, it just might work.   


	16. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is major Violence and Language in this chapter. Mentions of Alcohol, kidnapping, mental torture, physical torture, violence, language, Character Death. It is very angsty. Do Not Read If You Do Like Reading Things With These Tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!!

Chanyeol made his way into the hospital, he called in for Dr. Zhang. Apparently, Jongin has gone to Dr. Zhang before and the younger boy like him. Chanyeol walked through the entrance and to the check-in desk. They gave him one of those papers to fill out. He was annoyed but knew it was necessary. Although the questions were tedious, he managed to fill it out and wait for his name to be called. His name was called, and he hopped up to follow the nurse. She took his vitals, she didn’t talk a lot and when she did it was almost robotic. Chanyeol felt so relieved when she felt. A few moments later, there was a soft knock at the door.

“Hello, Mr. Park.” Yixing tried to walk in normally. It was so hard seeing his little brother just sitting there, it hurt to know Chanyeol had no idea who he was.

“Hello, Dr. Zhang.” Chanyeol smiled at the doctor and hopped onto the bed he was technically supposed to be on.

“What seems to be the problem, Mr. Park?” Yixing focused all of his attention on his younger brother. Although it was so nice to see him again, there was a reason for this visit.

“I keep having this bruises that just appear. I don’t know where they are coming from.” Chanyeol took off his sunglasses and pulled off his shirt. There was a tank top underneath but Chanyeol knew that there were more bruises under the tank. 

“Oh my god Chanyeol, what the hell happened.” Yixing forgot that Chanyeol had no idea who he was and gently grabbed his arm to look at the bruises more closely.

“Um, well I was hoping you could tell me.” Chanyeol said a little confusedly.

“Right, are there any more bruises anywhere?” Yixing shook his head and looked at the bruise on Chanyeol’s face.

“Yeah, there are some on my abdomen.” Chanyeol lifted his tank and showed Dr. Zhang the slightly larger bruises. 

“Mr. Park, could you lay down for a second.” Yixing instructed, he was really concerned about these bruises. Chanyeol laid down on the bed. Yixing gently prodded at where the bruises were the darkest. He continued to ask Chanyeol if it hurt.

“Not anymore, but when they appeared they hurt like hell.” Chanyeol answered honestly. This wasn’t good. These are the bruises people get when they break their ribs, but Chanyeol’s didn’t feel broken.

“Mr. Park follow me please.” Yixing needed to know if Chanyeol’s ribs were intact for sure. He instructed Chanyeol to lay down in front of the X-ray machine. When the results came back, Yixing was both relieved and worried. Chanyeol was fine, but that meant these bruises didn’t belong to him. They belonged to Baekhyun.

 

 

 

It was Minseok’s job, once again to watch the two experiments. This time they were both awake. They saw him and plead for help. It was not his place to speak to these experiments. He turned away from their pleading gazes and walked to his “room”, in there his vitamin was waiting for him. Ever since his parents died long ago, his guardian (Daesuk) always made him take his vitamins. As he reached forward, a voice demands him to stop. He was alone in this building beside the experiments.

**‘Minseok, stop.’ The voice was soft, sad, it pleads.**

**‘Look around you, doesn’t anything seem strange about this whole situation?’ The voice asked him softly.**

_**‘Minseok, these people, they’re your younger brothers. Protect them, don’t hurt them anymore.’ A different voice, more assertive said quickly.** _

Maybe he should tell the boss about these voices in his head. He’s only an experiment after all.

 

 

 

Jongin left Kyungsoo and Chanyeol a couple minutes ago, he just wanted to go to bed. Chanyeol said he was going to go to the doctor that he recommended. He was suddenly so tired. He kept thinking about things, stuff he didn’t even know about. People he’s never met. Kim Junmyeon, Kris Wu, Luhan, Huang Zitao… The only name he recognized was Zhang Yixing, the doctor he told Chanyeol about. All of thinking about people he’s never heard of, it was making him so tired.

 

_Jongin walked toward the small house, he loved where they lived. Not only was it beautiful, it was in the middle of nowhere. It allowed those who had elemental abilities to use them without hurting others or drawing attention to themselves. It was peaceful here, a nice change from the labs they were forced in. He doesn’t remember a lot about Exoplanet, he was too young when they were taken away to remember a lot._

_But here he felt like he was back there. Junmyeon used to tell him and Sehun all about Exoplanet when they were in the labs. Daesuk usually punished Junmyeon more if he heard the stories, he wanted Exoplanet to be erased from their memories. He told them all the time they would become human. Daesuk couldn’t wait until the boys thanked him for all his doing, thank him for making them all “normal”. Jongin never understood why Daesuk wanted this so bad._

_He loved being who he was, he didn’t want to be “normal” if that meant changing who he is. His brothers made him happy. As Jongin walked toward their small house, no their home, he could already smell Kyungsoo making dinner as the sun started to set. Suddenly there was a large crash, he looked behind him and saw a projectile headed right for the small house. Before he could warn anyone, the house was destroyed with all his brothers inside. This dream had turned into a nightmare. Jongin couldn’t scream, he couldn’t cry, he just wanted to wake up._

 

Jongin sat up quickly and looked around. He was in his expensive home. Filled with everything he ever wanted. But as he looked around, he wasn’t happy. He doesn’t understand the dream he had. Why was he so upset? It was only a nightmare after all, right?

 

 

 

“Chanyeol will be coming over tomorrow.” Yixing stated as he ate some of the soup made for him.

“What?” Junmyeon coughed as he swallowed the soup too fast.

“I asked him to come over. I have an off day tomorrow, but I wanted to take a look at those bruises again.” Yixing shrugged.

“He’s alright with that?” Kris looked at him with disbelieve.

Apparently, a friend of his recommended me to him, I’ve had so many patients over the years that I can’t seem to remember. I think we’ll be able to get him and Kyungsoo to remember. Kyungsoo is coming with because apparently, he doesn’t trust Chanyeol to drive?” Yixing shrugged.

“Why do they trust you so much? Not that you’re a bad guy or anything, but they don’t remember you.” Tao asked curiously.

“I’m not too sure why this is happening either. Maybe they are subconsciously remembering. Like Sehun when I talked to him. Or maybe I’m just a really likable guy?” Yixing shook his head and smiled.

“Why aren’t we celebrating then? Two more of our brothers are going to remember us!” Junmyeon jumped up excitedly.

“Well don’t scare them before they get here, I’m sure they can feel your excited energy from across the city.” Kris rolled his eyes at his love.

“Don’t you take this happiness away from me. We all need happiness in this life, let me have mine.” Junmyeon dramatically fell on to the couch like he was dying.

“Get back over here and finish your dinner, apparently we have a big day tomorrow.” Luhan rolled his eyes at his younger brother.

 

 

 

Baekhyun walked around his apartment. Even though he’s an adult, Daesuk said he’s not allowed to leave. Something about it being too dangerous for him outside the apartment. It’s probably because he doesn’t want the world to know that he hit Baekhyun. He sighed and walked into the bathroom.

Baekhyun gently touched the bruise that adorned his eye. Curiosity got ahold of him, he reached over and turned off the light. He was in complete darkness, it was silly to think he might start glowing again. It didn’t hurt to try. As he was reaching over to turn the light back on, it happened again. Small light specks began rising around him. He closed his eyes, these small specks felt warm, calming. Like they were supposed to be there, with him. Suddenly his door was kicked open, it scared him making him jump out of his skin.

“Byun Baekhyun, where the hell are you!” Daesuk was back for more. He closed the bathroom door gently and quietly got into the bathtub. He wouldn’t be safe there, but maybe he could have a few moments of peace before Daesuk got ahold him. Tears slipped out of his eyes, as the door to the bathroom crashed into the mirror, shattering it.

“Baekhyun I know you are here. I am tired of these games.” Daesuk growled as he entered. Baekhyun didn’t know why, but he felt like Daesuk’s anger was going to be too much this time around.

“You brats never know when to stop.” The bathroom curtain was ripped away and a hand grabbed his hair. He was roughly pulled from the bathtub. He cried out in pain as he was tugged into the living room.

“I-I don’t know what you’re t-talking about!” Baekhyun cried out, tears cascading down his face. He gripped Daesuk’s hand on his hair, he tried to loosen the grip.

“Of course, you don’t. I made sure of that.” Daesuk growled and pushed him to the carpet. Daesuk walked around and looked out the window.

“Baekhyun, I made your life great. All of your lives, and yet you all still want to find each other. You have no idea who I am talking about, but subconsciously you know exactly what I am talking about.” Daesuk sighed.

He couldn’t lie, Daesuk was scared. According to one of his nurses at the hospital that Yixing works at, Chanyeol was in checking on the bruises he “randomly” got. He was losing, the boys were winning, and he hated it. All of his hard work was going up in flames right in front of him, and he couldn’t stop it. All he had to do was keep one away. Maybe he still could.

Nobody knew where they were. Junmyeon, as of right now, had no idea where Baekhyun was. When he went to visit the experiments Minseok told him about the “voices in his head” he knew they managed to get Luhan. He wasn’t keeping enough tabs on the boys. Not even his nurse that watched Luhan at the zoo knew how they got him. Right now, he had one card, one ace up his sleeve. He still had Baekhyun. Fear coursed through Baekhyun, there was a craziness in his eyes. It scared him more than anything, he looked like a cornered animal. Baekhyun felt tears filling his eyes again, his heart was going a million miles an hour. Baekhyun was sure that if Daesuk quit talking he’d be able to hear it.

“Baekhyun come, sit with me for a while. Let’s talk.” Baekhyun sat down next to Daesuk, he froze when Daesuk put his arm around him. They talked for a long time, well Daesuk talked for a long time. Baekhyun was tired but too afraid to fall asleep and the sun started to rise.

 

 

 

Yixing got ready for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to come over. They decided to come over early, Kyungsoo and Jongin had to go to a shoot around noon. They also decided to bring Jongin along. Junmyeon nearly exploded, it was like Christmas to him. He and Luhan decided to make a million meals for breakfast, Kris and Tao were probably more excited about the food than the guests.

He doesn’t know how Junmyeon thinks he’s going to get all three of them. Maybe it would be possible with Luhan. Yixing just felt like something was wrong. There was a knock on the door, Yixing opened the door and smiled at three younger men. When Yixing saw Jongin, it clicked. He was the person that recommend him to Chanyeol. Jongin looked nervous as he walked behind Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. All that nervousness disappeared when he saw the food though, now he was just excited.

“Welcome, some of my brothers and a friend are over. I hope you don’t mind.” Yixing smiled and shook their hands.

“Jongin looks like he’s in heaven, so I think everything is alright.” Chanyeol chuckled and watched Jongin move slowly toward the food.

Yixing introduced Junmyeon, Kris, Luhan, and Tao to Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Jongin. They all sat down at the table so Jongin didn’t have a heart attack. He was looking at all this food and wasn’t allowed to touch it, this boy was going to have a heart attack. After they were finished eating, they all moved to the living. Yixing asked Chanyeol to walk him with him to the dining room. He was concerned about the bruises. Yixing asked Chanyeol if there was anything else that concerned him.

“I had this horrible headache this morning.” Chanyeol shrugged. Yixing sighed, fear for Baekhyun filled in his heart. The two of them made their way into the living room and sat down. For some reason, Junmyeon found his board games and pulled one out.

 

 

 

Baekhyun was so tired, at some point, Daesuk fell asleep. He didn’t notice until Daesuk went to sleep, he reeked of alcohol. He slowly got up from the couch, he’s never been so quiet in his life. Baekhyun made it to his room to grab his shoes. He needed to leave. He almost made it to the door, Baekhyun was so close to freedom. As his hand touched the doorknob there was a click behind him.

“Don’t move.” Daesuk’s tired, cold voice stopped him. He slowly turned around, Daesuk held out a small pistol. Baekhyun swallowed slowly and turned around.

“Come back over here. Now.” Daesuk said softly. Baekhyun was too afraid to deny anything the insane man in front of him said. As he walked the man started talking to him.

“I only need one, you are not leaving here. I only need one.” His eyes were beyond insane.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, I-I’ll do whatever you want. Please, let me leave.” Baekhyun was crying again. Daesuk kept telling him to shut up as he cried.

“It doesn’t matter, they will come for you. They will find you and they will get you to remember.” Daesuk shook his head.

“I-I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Baekhyun said softly.

“Unless you’re not here.” Daesuk smiled insanely and started laughing. Suddenly there was a deafening bang, all Baekhyun could see was black.

 

 

 

The dice fell in slow motion, Chanyeol dropped him and held his chest. He couldn’t breathe, as Yixing looked around he noticed everyone had the same wide eyes. They were all gripping their chests, they all stood up from the couch. Simultaneously tears cascaded down their faces and they all fell to their knees. None of them could speak. None of them could breathe. Memories rushed through their brains, they could see everything. At some point, Chanyeol started screaming and crying. He was screaming for one person.  Suddenly Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol remembered everything.

“Baekhyun!” None of them would ever be able to get Chanyeol’s heart-wrenching wails out of their minds.

 

 

 

Sehun and Jongdae were awakened by a horrible pain coming from their chest. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw every memory they forgot. They felt like they were dying. One of them was ripped from them and entered a world where the others couldn’t follow. Sehun and Jongdae screamed and thrashed against their restraints. Jongdae felt like his tears were starting to drown him. Tornados appeared in their room, Sehun continued screaming as the tornados got bigger in the small facility. As Jongdae thrashed against his restraints, sparks flew from him to the machines all around them making them short circuit.

 

 

 

Minseok fell to the ground and gripped his heart. The ice that surrounded his heart thawed faster than he could ever imagine. Frozen tears from off from his cheeks and it shattered against the cold tiled floor. Everything he had forgotten came back to him as his younger brother left him. He felt his younger brother leave this world, sorrow ate him alive. He didn’t protect Baekhyun. Soon that sorrow turned to anger. He eyes began cold, he could freeze anyone with a look. Minseok heard the screaming down the halls, the tornados whipping with anger and electricity made the facility short circuit causing the lights to go out. If anyone was in the room with Minseok, even though the lights were out, they would still be able to see his cold, glowing eye. If looks could kill, Minseok would be a murderer.


	17. Light and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic Violence, Explicit Language, Mentions of Kidnapping, and Invasion. If I missed anything please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

_As he opened his eyes, darkness dominated his vision. He couldn’t breathe, invisible water surrounded him. Panic built up inside of him, his heart pounded against his chest demanding to be freed. He tried moving his arms, pain spiked through him like a gunshot. His legs wouldn’t budge, cement-like waves of the invisible ocean around him held them still._

_Baekhyun opened his mouth to scream, the cement-like waves attacked. Choking him until nothing was left. A light in the distance eliminated his drowning features. Baekhyun opened his eyes, asking the light for help. The light glowed bright, sending down rays to destroy this void around him. It held him in its warmth, he was safe here. Baekhyun closed his eyes, it was time to rest._

_As he opened his eyes once more, birds chirped all around him. His fingers curled around the soft grass beneath him. He could finally breathe. The red sun above him snickered down at him as he sat up. The meadow around cried out as the sun’s horrible snickering grew louder. Baekhyun covered his ears with his hands as he stood up. The meadow continued its piercing screams as it tried to hide from the sun’s harmful rays of red light._

_Baekhyun felt liquid fall from his eyes, his fingers left his ears to wipe the liquid away. An unexpected crimson liquid covered his fingertips. The same feeling flowed out of his ears, Baekhyun lifted his fingers to catch the liquid as it fell. Crimson blood flowed from his eyes and his ears. The screaming meadow embedded its sound into his head, it pounded against his skull trying to get his attention._

_“Baekhyun.” A soft voice spoke over the screaming meadow. He turned to see a woman standing before him. Her black hair flowed with the wind surrounding them. Baekhyun couldn’t see her face, his blood took over his vision before he could._

_“It’s time to come home, dear.” The woman spoke again._

_A gentle hand curled itself over his own. He was pulled away from the red sun’s fun and followed the woman as she took the lead. She led him to the end, a cliff with sharp jagged stones waiting for their meal to be pushed over the edge. Water splashed angerly against the stones, fighting for a chance to eat the unfortunate soul above them. The woman gently cleared the blood from his eyes. She looked into the uncovered eyes and smiled. Baekhyun looked into her pitch-black eyes. She ran her long, pale, fingers through his hair gently._

_“It’s time to go home.” The woman said again, as she led him closer to the ledge she started to decay._

_Baekhyun watched as she fell apart in front of him until there was nothing left. He looked at the scenery behind him, it filled him with dread. Blinding white ships descended from the gray sky. Something wet fell from his hair, down on to his cheek. A hole formed on his forehead, the sound of a gunshot rang in his ears. Baekhyun stepped back, he hoped to get away from it all. He stepped back until they ground rose above him. The sharp jagged stones howled in disappointment as he fell into the pitch-black water around them. Baekhyun opened his eyes one last time, he saw a figure with a red eye drowning next to him. Then there was nothing._

_Chanyeol choked as he tried to escape the unforgiving clutches of the darkness around him. His anger took over his body as he howled at the damning pitch-black water around him. The phoenix inside of him, burned away his skin as it fought against the shadow that surrounded him. Its blazing wings shot out from either side, daring the shadow to fight against it. The phoenix screeched as it took off toward the gray sky above. It looked around, the vessels that came from so far away destroyed everything in sight._

_The Phoenix felt like it was still drowning although it flapped its wings freely in the sky. It looked down to see a boy falling farther into the shadow’s hold. Chanyeol recognized the boy as his pair. He asked the Phoenix, over and over again, to retrieve the boy below. The Phoenix agreed, its vessel never asked for favors. It figured it would allow the vessel to have this one favor. The sharp talons of the Phoenix opened as it dived down into the shadows below and clutched its grip tightly against the boy’s arms. The Phoenix flew with the boy in tow, away from the destruction caused by man. The strong wings flapped against the cruel winds, it was trying to stop the Phoenix from reaching the desired destination. It was going home, away from mankind._

_A shot rang out through the gray sky and the phoenix shrieked out in pain. A wing was struck, the Phoenix crashed into the hard-unforgiving earth below. The talons let the boy go as the phoenix tumbled and crashed as it returned to the vessel state for protection. Chanyeol wailed as he grasped his injured arm.  Blood flowed from it steadily as the bullet nestled into its new home. With pain blazing in his eyes, he turned around to look at the other boy._

_His red eye matched the color of the red sun above, it laughed at them as he made his way to the unconscious boy. Moving the other’s head on to his lap, Chanyeol looked at his pair. He looked to be the same age as Chanyeol, eight or nine years of age. Chanyeol looked around confusedly, wondering what made him realize this boy was his pair. He looked at the boy, trying to find out more information about the unconscious child in his grasp. A pendant around his neck shimmered against the pale skin of his neck. It looked like the sun._

_‘Light? He’s from Auris!’ Chanyeol thought happily, he gasped lightly when he saw the light pendant holding on to another pendant._

_Chanyeol felt around his own neck, his adornment fell away from him and attached itself to his pair’s pendant. His pendant shimmered along with the other boy’s. Chanyeol waited for the two pendants to release each other and placed his in its rightful place. He hissed in pain as he placed his injured arms around the other’s shoulders, he placed his other arms under his knees. He gritted his teeth and lifted. The boy wasn’t heavy, but the bullet in his arm gave him an extra few pounds._

_The sound of explosions getting closer startled him. People from Earth found them. They demanded the people of Exoplanet hand over their children. This was met with rage from the citizens of Exoplanet, and a war began. Chanyeol was separated from his parents long ago, he was sure this boy was as well. The explosions were getting closer, Chanyeol made the decision to do what he does best. He ran, careful not to harm the boy in his arms any more than he already was._

_He ran for a while until the pain in his arm became too horrible to bear. The moment he stopped, they were surrounded. Chanyeol tried to protect the other, but the men dressed in blinding white coats pulled out a gun and shot him. A needle attached to a container embedded itself into his arms. It releases its blue chemical into his blood before he could try to pull it out. Then there was nothing._

 

 

 

Yixing sat down after what seemed light hours. Chanyeol had a seizure, then started bleeding from his eyes and his ears. They should be happy right now. They should have been celebrating. Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol remembered everything. The price for the other’s remembering was Baekhyun’s life.

This whole journey was to become twelve again, but one left to a place that the others weren’t allowed to follow. Yixing sighed as he ran his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair. Everyone, besides Chanyeol, had woken up already. Zitao and Jongin cried themselves back to sleep in the arms of Kris and Junmyeon. Luhan was trying to get Kyungsoo to talk to him. The moment Kyungsoo woke up, it was like he followed Baekhyun into the unknown of death even though he was very much alive.

They still had no way of contact for Minseok, Jongdae, or Sehun. Yixing couldn’t imagine how they were dealing with this. He stood up and left the room, he made his way to Kyungsoo and Luhan. Sitting in front of them he snapped his fingers in Kyungsoo’s face to get his attention. Kyungsoo slowly looked at Yixing, there was so time to be gentle. They were out of time.

“Snap out of it Kyungsoo. I need you and Luhan to come with me. We’re still missing three brothers, and I’d rather die than let Daesuk kill them too.” Yixing stated forcefully.

He knew it was cruel and his heart stung as he spoke this way. Kyungsoo understood, he stood up alongside Luhan. They needed to get to the others before Daesuk. They walked quickly down the stairs, Yixing walked up to Junmyeon and smiled at the scene before him sadly. Jongin attached himself to Junmyeon, his tears made streaks on Junmyeon’s shirt.

“We’re leaving, we’re going to go get the others.” Yixing said quietly.

“No.” Junmyeon didn’t even look at him, his voice cracked with grief.

“Junmyeon, this isn’t up for debate. We need to get them away from Daesuk. He already took Baekhyun from us. Do you want him to take our other brothers as well?” Yixing knew why Junmyeon was against them leaving. But he also knew Junmyeon didn’t have a lot of fight left in him.

“Be careful, I don’t think I could take another death this soon.” Junmyeon couldn’t fight against them. Even if he did, he knew they would go. Yixing, Kyungsoo, and Luhan didn’t waste a second. They ran out to the car, they had an idea of where to go. Although it was crazy, they headed to the coffee shop.

 

 

 

_Chanyeol slowly woke up, his first thought was about the boy with the light pendant. Where was he? Chanyeol lifted his arm, well tried to. His arms were both attached to the bed he was lying on. He looked around the room he was in, wasn’t he outside? Chanyeol looked around the room, everywhere he looked it was white. The white door opened slowly, and a woman walked through. Something was wrong with her. She didn’t look like she was alive. Her icy cold gaze pierced through him._

_“M-Miss, where am I? Where is the boy I was with?” Chanyeol tried asking._

_The woman ignored him and took his vitals. She then turned and left him alone in the room. Chanyeol tried tugging against his restraints. Suddenly pain struck him, but it wasn’t his pain. He gasped as this pain ripped through his bones, then it stopped._

_‘H-Help me, please!’ A voice screamed in his head, it was his pair. Chanyeol tugged harder against the restraints._

 

 

 

_Baekhyun felt ice cold. As he laid on this cold surface, he slowly opened his eyes. Where was his mother? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was he mother leading him away from the dangerous invasion. Footsteps echoed loudly throughout the room._

_Baekhyun heard the man, but never saw him. A couple of women came in with more restraints. They were rough with their grips. They tied down his arms and immobilized his head from being able to move. Baekhyun couldn’t look anywhere but up. The room crackled to life and a voice came out of speakers hidden throughout the shadows of the room._

_“Experiment Zero-Four, we are going to begin your PTE. This will test your pain tolerance. After every five minutes, the level will increase.” A man, probably the man from before, spoke through the speakers._

_The things that he thought were just restraints crackled to life. Electricity shot through his body. He screamed louder than he thought he could. It rippled through his skin and into his bones. Frozen in place with electricity ripping through him. His throat felt like it was bleeding, his heart skipped a couple beats._

_‘H-Help me, please!’ He yelled out in his head, hoping and praying someone would hear his plea. would hear his plea._


	18. The Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentions of drugs, violence, kidnapping, explicit language. If I missed any warnings, please let me know so I can fix it. 
> 
> A quick reminder that italicized text is a flashback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it~

Arriving at the coffee shop, their hope began diminishing. The front of the small shop was completely ruined by the blast. Some pieces of the building chipped at the surrounding shops with their sharp edges. Police tape surrounded the area, some reporters snapped pictures while others were asking the police questions. Yixing decided to drive around back, they’ll have to walk a little bit but none of them really wanted to be there anyway. They just wanted their brothers back. In all of these shops, there are two exits. This was for safety, in case something blocked the front exit then there’s another one. Amazingly, the blast only took out the front of the store and some other buildings surrounding it.

Luhan rushed ahead to unlock the door, Kyungsoo and Yixing had to make sure no witnesses were around. The back of the coffee shop was unexpected. The front of the coffee shop was always warm and inviting, the back was cold and had a dangerous feel to it. The walls were metal top to bottom, the floor was covered in dirty white tiles (if you could even call that white anymore). For a moment, Yixing thought Luhan picked the wrong building. There was no sign of the calm coffee shop in this back room, it was like walking into a containment facility mixed with a science lab. There were beakers connected to different beakers, liquids with every color of the rainbow, the only thing that suggested there was coffee near was the coffee cups.

They were under a vast beaker with a timer on the side. It was filled with dark blue liquid. Every time the timer expired, it opened a small hatch and released the smallest bit of blue liquid into the cup. No one was tending to it, the dark liquid began to overflow, plopping onto the dirty tiles below. This room was small, it looked like only one person would be able to work in here. Where there was supposed to be a door a slot took its place. It was only big enough for a tray of coffee cups to pass through. On the side of the slot, there was a metal square on the floor below it with a latch locking it shut. Kyungsoo carefully walked over to the latch. He had to rip his hand from the metal square, it was cold enough to burn him. It reminded him of Minseok’s ability. Their oldest brother didn’t get angry often, but when he did the person who provoked him would end up with frostbite.

“Yixing, if I crush this lock can you make sure I don’t get frostbite." Kyungsoo asked quietly.

“Yeah. Luhan, keep a lookout and warn us if you see anything.” Yixing pointed at the back door and sent Luhan to keep watch.

Kyungsoo took a breath and grasped the lock as tight as he could. Ignoring the ironic, flame that licked at his fingers became harder. Because of how cold the lock was, it disintegrated in his grasp. When he let go Yixing immediately grabbed his hands and started warming them up again. Kyungsoo gently pushed him away with a soft smile, then turned to the latch again. With all of his strength, he lifted the latch. Well, maybe too much strength considering the latch was now in his hands instead of attached to the floor…

He carefully set the small door down and stopped Yixing from going inside. He carefully walked down the slightly broken stairs. The room underneath the coffee shop was freezing. Ice covered every square inch of the small facility. He felt anger rise within him. There were small rooms covered in ice with beds that had restraints on them. Next to the hospital beds were IV bags, blue liquid frozen within them. A sheet of ice coated a thin glass wall, separating the room with beds and a room with a dissection table with electrical restraints attached to it.

Yixing walked quietly behind him, there was a small hallway neither of them wanted to go down. In the hallway the robot nurses lined the walls, Kyungsoo was on guard until he realized that they were deactivated. Following the trail of the deactivated nurses, it led them to a room off by itself. Smoke covered the floor, it came from a human-sized box in the middle of the room. Kyungsoo walked forward and gently placed his hand on the box.

It was freezing cold, Kyungsoo ran to the other room and grabbed a scalpel and ran back to Yixing and the box. He carefully placed the blade of the scalpel against the box and began chipping away at the box. Without the ice, it would have been a clear box. As the inside of the box became clearer, Kyungsoo felt his heartbeat skyrocket. There was a person in this box. When Kyungsoo finally saw the face of the person, his heart stopped.

“Yixing, Sehun is in this box!” Kyungsoo gasped and started to chip at the box in a panic. Yixing ran to the other room and grabbed another something to help Kyungsoo get Sehun out of the frozen box. Suddenly Luhan’s panicked voice spoke through their communication channel.

“Daesuk is coming!” Luhan popped his head into the hole in the floor and looked at Yixing with panic filling his gaze.

“Luhan come here and help us, Sehun is trapped down here.” Yixing said quietly.

Luhan rushed down and followed Yixing to the separate room in the back. Daesuk was coming and there was no way to hide the fact that they found this place. Yixing didn’t care that Daesuk was on his way not when his pair was frozen in a box. Their youngest brother, his pair, Yixing wanted to kill Daesuk. Wasn’t taking Baekhyun away from them enough? Daesuk’s footsteps began sounding louder and louder when he ran to the hidden room.

“I never thought you three would be dumb enough to come here.” Daesuk’s voice growled from behind them. Yixing turned away, he kept Luhan and Kyungsoo chipping away at the box.

“Why must you go this far? Why are you still fighting against us?” Yixing growled back at Daesuk.

“Boy show some respect. You ungrateful children, how dare you fight against me. I am trying to give you better lives! Sehun wouldn’t be in there if you all just left well enough alone!” Daesuk laughed crazily.

“You’ve already won! Wasn’t taking Baekhyun enough?” Yixing felt tears welling up in his eyes as he yelled back at Daesuk.

“That’s where you are wrong. I missed my chance with Baekhyun, that damn cockroach is still alive.” Daesuk growled.

 

 

 

Baekhyun’s world twisted and turned. He remembered seeing a boy in the unforgiving arms of the black water with him. Who was that boy? Baekhyun sat up carefully, his hands wouldn’t move. They were restrained at his sides and gloves covered his fingers. The room around him was disgustingly beautiful. The pristine white walls and white floors shined under the lights.

There was another person in the room with him. The boy he saw before, restrained just like he was. The other boy had different gloves on his fingers. The outfit the other boy was in confused him, it was just as white as the room around them. The number 61 around his collar in black.

Baekhyun looked down at his own apparel and chuckled slightly, everything was white. He was beginning to hate this color that surrounded him. The room made him feel younger than he was. Although he wasn’t very old, all he could think about was wanting to be with his parents. This place, it scared him. As if reading his mind, the door opened, and a man walked in.

“Experiment Zero-Four, you’re awake?” The man said with surprise.

“M-My name is Baekhyun, w-where am I? Who i-is that boy?” Baekhyun asked quickly.

“Your name is Experiment Zero-Four, that boy is Experiment Zero-Six-One. I brought you here to give you another life. One away from the stressful life you would have had on that awful planet of yours.” The man chuckled.

“My name is Baekhyun, what happened to my home? I want to go home.” Baekhyun felt tears welling up in his eyes.

“This is your home. My ships took out everything, the life you once knew no longer exists.” The man shook his head and walked closer to Baekhyun. He got close to one of the boy’s ears. Baekhyun didn’t like the close proximity and shied away from him.

“Welcome home, Experiment Zero-Four.” The man whispered cruelly.

 

 

 

Minseok slowly opened his eyes, where was he? He looked around and saw a room that looked exactly like the room he helped torture Jongdae and Sehun in. Except for this time, he was restrained on the bed. Sehun was nowhere to be found, Jongdae was asleep next to him on the bed just like he was. Seeing his younger brother still in danger, Minseok struggled against his restraints. He didn’t see Sehun anywhere, but Jongdae was in the room with him. He was both devastated and relieved at the same time. The more he struggled, the more his memories started coming back to him.

_Baekhyun’s death, his anger making him lose control of his powers, shattering Jongdae and Sehun’s restraints. Minseok unleashed his anger on the door keeping them underground. Something happened that Minseok wasn’t ready for though. The door flew open. Sehun and Jongdae weren’t the ones who opened the door and Minseok sure as hell didn’t open the door. Minseok pushed the two younger kids behind him, afraid of the force that ripped the door open. A tranquilizer dart shot out from the hole above them caught Minseok. Dark blue liquid shot through his arm. Minseok tried to warn the younger kids when another dart shot through the air and caught Jongdae. Sehun backed away in fear. His older brothers were slowly losing consciousness. He didn’t even notice Daesuk quietly walking up behind him. Grabbing the youngest by the neck and covered his mouth with a cloth covered in chloroform. He fought with the shocked boy, slowly crushing Sehun’s neck with the arm he had wrapped around it._

_“Alright, come down.” Daesuk demanded. More robotic nurses made their way down and lifted the two unconscious boys out of the underground facility. Daesuk looked at the youngest and chuckled. He maneuvered Sehun and grabbed him under his arms. He dragged Sehun to the room that held Minseok when he was gone. Calling for another nurse, they opened the box in the middle of the room. This box was only made for Minseok, but Daesuk would just have to make it work. They grabbed restraints and attached them in the box where Sehun’s waist would go. Standing the boy up in the box, Daesuk secured Sehun with the waist restraint and closed the box door. Daesuk sent the woman away and walked over to the controls in the room. Buttons lighting up in every color of the rainbow, only one was needed. Daesuk pressed the smallest button on the table and pressed it. The ceiling of the box opened up, above it was a vent that released small amounts of liquid nitrogen into the room. The liquid nitrogen wasn’t above the box, but the smoke from the nitrogen collect all around the room. Daesuk chuckled as he left the room._

 

Minseok started fighting against the restraints again, trying his hardest to get to Jongdae. The other boy didn’t even look close to waking up, and Sehun was nowhere near either of them. The door slammed open and several nurses walked inside. They held clipboards in their hand, only two walked forward. On her blood red visor, there was a snowflake on the side, the other woman had a lightning bolt on hers.

“Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine, testing will begin shortly.” The robotic woman with the snowflake on her visor looked at him coldly. The other robotic woman walked calmly toward Jongdae and stuck a syringe in his arms effectively waking him up.

“Experiment Zero-Two-One, testing will begin shortly.” The other woman stated calmly.


	19. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter includes scenes of torture (both physical and mental) and explicit violence. There is also explicit language and mentions of kidnapping. If I missed anything, please let me know so I can fix it right away.
> 
> Note: Italicized text means that the event is not technically in the present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you like the new chapter!

The woman that adorned the snowflake ordered the other nurses to start wheeling him and Jongdae out of the room they were resting in. Minseok struggled against the restraints, Jongdae was being taken down the opposite hall. It was a futile attempt. He was brought into a room that was covered from top to bottom in ice. Was something wrong with the robotic programming or are they putting him in his element to give him false security?

“Welcome Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine, this room is your testing room.” The robotic woman smiled coldly. 

“Stop calling me that, where is Jongdae?” Minseok demanded. 

“Experiment Zero-Two-One is in his testing room.” She walked around his bed and removed his restraints. Before he could react, an alarm shrieked through the room and a seal covered the door. 

“Do your worst Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine.” The robot looked up from her clipboard and nodded at him. Minseok slowly stood up and looked around. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but this whole situation is wrong. The snow under crunched under his feet. Minseok turned to the robot and threw an icicle at her. It pierced her arms and just stayed there, she didn’t even flinch. The robot looked at Minseok unamused. The icicle seemed to absorb into her robotic skin. 

“Now Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine, this is not what the testing room is for.” She reprimanded him. 

She pulled out a device and walked calmly over to him. He had a chance, he needed to get out and find Jongdae and Sehun. Minseok looked around for a route he could take to escape. He turned back to see how much time he had left when a cold, robotic hand wrapped around his throat and slammed him against the wall. Minseok struggled against her fingers as they curled and pierced into his neck. She took the device she pulled out earlier and placed against his temple. It shot an electrical current through his brain shutting it down, he fell unconscious. 

 

 

 

_ “Psst, Baekhyun!” A voice called out to him, a blindfold took away his vision.  _

_ “W-Who’s there?” Baekhyun called out softly. _

_ “Baek, we need you to come home.” The voice cried softly.  _

_ “W-Who are you?” Baekhyun asked quickly, but the voice was gone as soon as it appeared.  _

_ Now feeling alone, Baekhyun slowly walked around this black field of dying flowers and trees. He didn’t recognize anything around him. A small star like pendant started to glow around his neck. If he turned to a different path the glowing would stop. It was trying to lead him somewhere. Taking the path that the pendant wanted, it continued through a dark and dying forest. His feet were bleeding from the journey. How long has he been walking? A spark of light appeared in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. A mirror appeared in front him, instead of seeing himself he saw someone he didn’t recognize. It was him, but a completely different version of him. He was in a war uniform. Blood, sweat, and tears streamed down his face. The only thing that was similar between him and this version in the mirror was the pendant.  _

 

 

 

Junmyeon was pacing in front of the others. He was nervous, the boys weren’t back yet. Although he failed at getting all of his boys together again, he still needs to do everything he can to make sure Daesuk pays for taking one of their own away. They all still felt it, the void that once held Baekhyun’s connection in it. Chanyeol has been asleep since Baekhyun’s departure. Kris had enough of Junmyeon’s pacing and stood up. He gently reached out and grabbed Junmyeon’s hand. Jongin and Zitao had fallen asleep while watching Junmyeon pace. Kris led him away from the living room and into the kitchen. 

“Stop blaming  yourself. ” Kris said softly when they were out of earshot. 

“I can’t he’s gone, Kris. I failed him.” Junmyeon shook his head and wiped away the tears that started to form again. 

“No, you didn’t. We were dealt an unfair hand. Look at how far we’ve come. It might feel like Baekhyun is gone, but he would never leave us. He’ll always be here.” Kris placed his hand over Junmyeon’s heart. The television was brought to life in the other room, the boys must have been waiting for Kris to take Junmyeon out of the room.

“We’ll never go home. Even if we could, we’d never go home without him.” Junmyeon shook his head. Kris smiled at Junmyeon sadly. When he met the boys in the experiment facilities, it was clear that Junmyeon was the mother and the others were his kids. It made him chuckle the first time Junmyeon reprimanded the oldest two for waking the children from their naps.

“Where ever we are, all twelve of us, that’s home.” Kris pecked Junmyeon on the forehead and smiled at him softly. Before Junmyeon could react, Jongin popped out of thin air with a panicked expression. 

“Jongin, what’s the matter?” Junmyeon asked immediately. 

“Baekhyun is on the news.” Jongin grabbed his two parent figures and popped out of the kitchen.

 

 

 

While Yixing distracted Daesuk, both Luhan and Kyungsoo were able to get Sehun out of that Ice Box. Although it didn’t feel like Sehun had any life in him, they all knew he was still with them. Otherwise, there would have been two voids’ in their connection. Luhan carefully transferred Sehun from his arms to Kyungsoo’s. Luhan had enough of Daesuk’s taunting. Daesuk was a bug to Luhan, an annoying fly that needed to get out of the way. In a fit of anger, Luhan flung Daesuk smashing him against the closest wall. Daesuk’s smashed hard enough to leave an indent in the frozen wall behind him knocking him out instantly. 

“For all that talk, that man is weak.” Luhan spits in the direction of the horrible man. 

“Come on, we need to get back to the others. Sehun needs to be warmed up.” Kyungsoo spoke quickly, trying to get the attention of the older boy’s. Luhan kept an eye on the unconscious Daesuk while Yixing and Kyungsoo carefully got Sehun out of this hellish place and followed them up. 

“Kyungsoo is there a way to seal this door back on.” Luhan pointed at the trap door that Kyungsoo ripped off.

“No, but I can up a boulder on top of it. It would keep him in there while we figure out what to do.” Kyungsoo sighed. 

“Where are you going to find a boulder in the city?” Luhan asked confusedly. 

“Who needs to find one, when you can make one.” Kyungsoo winked at Luhan. They transferred Sehun into Yixing’s arms. Using tons of the loose gravel around the building. The front side being blown to bits definitely helped. Kyungsoo decided to create a stone lid instead of just making a giant boulder. It fit on the entrance perfectly. Using enough of the heavier pieces, no human would be able to lift that. 

“Let’s go home.” Luhan ran his fingers carefully through Sehun’s cold hair and smiled gently at the other two. 

 

 

 

Sitting in front of the television the boy’s watched the news report on idol Byun Baekhyun. It was really hard for Junmyeon to watch. To see pictures of Baekhyun on stage smiling, living his life, only to know he’ll never be able to do that again. It killed him. Junmyeon wasn’t even paying attention anymore. He kept thinking about all the memories he had with Baekhyun. 

Although they weren’t the best memories, they still had a smiling Baekhyun in them. He was startled out of his thoughts when Kris tapped him frantically. Kris looked surprised and shocked at the same time. Jongin and Zitao just stared at the television with confusion. Junmyeon turned his gaze back to the television, they didn’t even notice when the other’s returned from the coffee shop. They didn’t notice Luhan carrying Sehun up the stairs, nor the shocked gasp he made when he came back down a few moments later. 

“Witness of the hotel say they heard the gunshot from above. Other witness’s state a suspicious man running out of the hotel as fast as he could. The Police were called to the scene, along with an ambulance. Idol Byun Baekhyun, of Red Entertainment, was found left to die in room 421. There were signs of a struggle in the living room area and the bathroom. Eyewitnesses of the man running from the scene were able to pick out some of the same features,” A police sketch was shown, it was an almost perfect sketch of Daesuk. 

“Idol Byun Baekhyun was immediately rushed to the hospital after the paramedics were able to revive him. As of right now, there is no update on his condition. We will update you when we receive an update.” The reporter stood outside of the hospital and threw it back to the anchors in the studio. 

“He wasn’t lying, Baekhyun is  alive. ” Yixing said in disbelief. Junmyeon immediately stood up, a fire relit itself inside of him. They haven’t lost yet. 

“I don’t understand, why can’t we feel him?” Jongin asked quietly. 

“I’m not worried about that right now. All that matters is that he is still here with us.” Junmyeon shook of the concern and walked up the stairs calling Yixing to come with him. Junmyeon lead Yixing into the room with Chanyeol and Sehun resting. 

“He still isn’t up?” Yixing asked concernedly. To Yixing’s knowledge, there was nothing wrong with Chanyeol physically. Mentally, however, is a whole other problem. He lost his pair, or so they had thought. 

“Leave me in here with them, go talk to the others and figure out a way to find Minseok and Jongdae, we can’t do anything about Baekhyun right now with the press all over the hospital.” Yixing smiled gently at Junmyeon and looked back at the two resting in the room. Junmyeon gently closed the door and walked back to the others. Yixing walked over to Chanyeol and gently placed his hand on his forehead. Chanyeol has always been slightly warmer than the others because of his ability. Sighing, he walked over to his own pair. Yixing closed his eyes and reached out to Sehun through their connection. 

 

 

 

Junmyeon walked over to the television and turned it off, despite the protest of the others. They all stopped when they noticed the heavy atmosphere that returned with Junmyeon. They all sat down in front of Junmyeon, who seemed to be lost in thought. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. They all felt sad, confused, hurt, Baekhyun was still alive but they couldn’t feel him. If they never saw that report on the event, they would all think Baekhyun was dead. 

“We can’t do anything about Baekhyun right now. Not with all of those reporters around the hospital. We need to find Minseok and Jongdae. Luhan when you guys went to the coffee shop, did you see Daesuk or any indication that he was ever even there?” Junmyeon looked at Luhan hopefully. 

“Yeah, we trapped him underneath the building.” Luhan sat up slightly while Kyungsoo nodded beside him. 

“You trapped him underneath the building? What do you mean?” Junmyeon shook his head and looked at the two confusedly. 

“He had Sehun trapped down there in the box filled with ice. It was a miniature experimentation facility. Kyungsoo trapped him down there.” Luhan shared the images he remembered through the mental connection. 

“Alright, I have an idea. However, this is going to be cruel and probably inhumane.” Junmyeon looked at the others to see if they were alright with a little cruelty. 

“Who cares? With all the stuff that man put us through.” Kris growled at the thought of the man that was technically his father. The other’s agreed silently, they all felt that man deserved a little suffering. 

 

 

 

Yixing opened his eyes, Sehun’s favorite place graced his vision. Sehun was playing with his ability toward the middle of the field. Creating small tornados and big tornados, just having a great time by himself. Yixing smiled and walked toward the small Sehun. 

“Yixing! You’re back!” Sehun stopped what he was doing and jumped into Yixing’s arms. 

“Hello Sehun, did you miss me?” Yixing chuckled as he held the small Sehun. 

“Yes! I feel so much warmer now. Thank you for helping me out of that horrible place.” Sehun shivered as he remembered how cold it was. 

“You are safe now. You can walk up whenever you want, whenever you’re ready. Despite being really cold, there isn’t really anything physically wrong. As soon as we got you back we started warming you up. We placed you next to Chanyeol for a while. Better than any fireplace I would say.” Yixing smiled when the small Sehun giggled. 

“Not all of you are there though. I can’t remember when, but I saw Baekhyun following some lady, and Chanyeol too.” Sehun turned serious really quick. 

“You saw Baekhyun and Chanyeol?” Yixing looked around the field, they were in a different place than they were before.

“I tried following them, but they wouldn’t let me in. So, I was stopped here, but it looked like when Exoplanet was under attack.” Sehun pointed to a group of trees. Yixing walked forward to understand what Sehun meant by him being stopped. When he came up to the trees, he held out his hand. The mental barrier shocked him lightly, it was like a mental cage. 

“You haven’t seen Jongdae and Minseok, have you?” Yixing turned to Sehun again. 

“As far as I’m aware they haven’t been in the mental plane.” Sehun shook his head and looked back at the cage in front of them.


	20. Daesuk's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is mentions of Kidnapping, Physical Torture, Mental Torture, Explicit Language and Death. If I forgot anything, please let me know so I can fix it right away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter!! Let me know what you think~

 

Yixing set Sehun down, he gently placed both of his hand on the barrier and ignored the small shocks he received from it. Sehun looked around to see if he could see Baekhyun or Chanyeol. Sometimes they would pop up, never at the same time. It was always one after the other. Sehun saw them both appear only once. That was when the woman led Baekhyun off the cliff and the woman led Chanyeol to Baekhyun. Sometimes there would be a glimpse of the past, Sehun felt like he was watching a movie when the memory of how the two of them met played. Baekhyun and Chanyeol never told anybody how they met, so seeing it for the first time was pretty cool. As he looked into Baekhyun’s area, something caught his eye.

“Yixing, look.” The small Sehun tugged at Yixing sleeve and point toward the moving figure.

Sehun followed the invisible fence, Baekhyun was on the other side. They saw him look around confusedly, his pendant glowed when he faced a certain direction. The two watched as he followed the direction his pendant wanted him to go. It led him through a dark forest, one that they had never seen before. This mental plane was a place for the twelve of them to get together and enjoy the scenery.

This was a safe place for them, it was created by Luhan when they were still in the facility. He made it exactly like their home on Exoplanet, but he relinquished mental power over the plane. With this mental power over the plane, they were able to manipulate the scenery to match with their happiest memory. Not only did it give them comfort, it was also easy to figure out whose plane they were in. Considering they all came from different sectors; all of the scenery was different depending on who’s it was.

Sehun had never been to Baekhyun’s sector, but he knew for a fact there weren’t any dark forests in the land of light. Yixing and Sehun followed Baekhyun as best as they could, his pendant led him to a mirror. This mirror was covered in dark, black wood. Sehun didn’t know if Baekhyun could see it, but the person in the mirror was the Baekhyun they all feared. Sehun never fought Baekhyun in the experimental facility, but from what he heard Baekhyun turned into a dangerous being.

Out of everyone on Exoplanet, Auris (The Light Sector) had the most dangerous citizens. The people of Auris have a special ability. Not only can they control and manipulate light, but the strongest were able to control and manipulate darkness as well. From what Sehun heard, Baekhyun came from a family that was very strong and could control and manipulate both light and darkness. Baekhyun was no exception. From what the other’s have said, Baekhyun is the strongest so far in his family. That man in the mirror was a dark robotic version of the Baekhyun they all know and love.

“Yixing…” Sehun pressed himself closer to Yixing when Baekhyun looked at the mirror.

The pendant around his neck started glowing even brighter than before. Yixing turned around and grabbed Sehun, pushing his face into his shirt. The pendant wasn’t stopping, if they looked at it any longer it would permanently blind them. They heard a small explosion behind them. Yixing carefully looked around, making sure it was safe for Sehun. They both turned when it was safe, only to see that Baekhyun disappeared.

 

 

 

They gathered in the kitchen. Yixing was upstairs with Chanyeol and Sehun, now was the perfect time to plan out their next move. Baekhyun would be safe from Daesuk in the hospital, they had to believe in him. They needed to believe he still had enough in him to fight through. Minseok and Jongdae are their main focus right now.

“Does anybody have an idea of where he could be hiding them?” Junmyeon asked carefully.

“Why don’t we just force it out of him, Kyungsoo and Luhan have him trapped.” Zitao suggested.

“I want him to suffer down there a little longer. As long as he is down there, he shouldn’t be anywhere near Minseok and Jongdae.” He looked at Luhan and Kyungsoo to make sure he was right. They both confirmed it. There was no possible way Minseok and Jongdae were still in the compartment under the coffee shop.

“Daesuk worked with Baekhyun. He was Baekhyun’s manager at the Red Entertainment. Chanyeol and I worked there, Jongin worked for a company directly under Red Entertainment. They might be there. There were places Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and I were not allowed to go. No one but the staff was allowed to go in.” Kyungsoo suggested lightly.

“Some of you should go and get information from Daesuk while some go to the company. A few of us need to stay here with Yixing, Sehun, and Chanyeol.” Junmyeon looked at the others carefully.

“Jongin and I are still employed at the company. We can look around without looking suspicious.” Kyungsoo suggested.

“Yeah, and I used to get lost a lot because of how big the building is.” Jongin smiled excitedly.

“That being said, if Jongin or I get caught in a place we’re not supposed to be we can just blame it on that.” Kyungsoo smiled back and nodded.

“Alright, but please keep Jongin in your sight.” Junmyeon chuckled at the thought of Jongin getting lost every time he went to go visit Kyungsoo.

“I should go back to the coffee shop in case he decides to attack us.” Luhan stated quickly.

“Alright, so Luhan, Zitao, and I will go to the coffee shop.” Junmyeon decided, despite the obvious protest from Kris.

“I want to go with you.” Kris looked a little confused at the way Junmyeon was acting. Junmyeon pulled Kris away from the rest, so they could talk privately.

“Why don’t you want me going with you?” Kris demanded when they were out of sight.

“I’m not comfortable with you and him being in the same room. You’re also needed here, what if this is what he wants? I don’t want Yixing, Sehun, and Chanyeol vulnerable.” Junmyeon spoke quietly, so the kids couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“I’m not afraid of him Junmyeon, I understand that you don’t what them defenseless but I’m not sure if I’m enough to defend them.” Kris expressed his concerns, hoping to knock some sense into Junmyeon.

“You’re not coming with us, you can defend them. You stronger than you realize.” Junmyeon gently ran his fingers through Kris’s hair reassuringly.

“We need to get going. I’ve already felt one of us “leaving”, I don’t want to know what that feels like when it’s real.” Junmyeon ended the conversation.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. We really don’t have time for any mistakes. We need to finish this soon, or we may have another problem.” Junmyeon announced when they walked back into the room.

 

 

 

Minseok didn’t understand this situation. He has the ability of Ice, and yet it does nothing to her. Minseok stood there, breathing heavily, she just stared at him. She never even moved. No matter how much he threw at her, she didn’t even blink. This whole room was at his deposal, and yet he’s trapped.

“Come now Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine, surely that’s not all you can do.” She was mocking him. Minseok felt rage fill his heart. How dare she mock him.

“Shall I show you Experiment Zero-Two-One? Maybe seeing him will give you a little motive.” The robot suggested.

The nurse pulled out a small projection device and pointed to at the wall behind him. Jongdae was in a room almost exactly like his. The difference being every corner was sparking with energy. Minseok was shocked to hear Jongdae cry in pain as he was struck with a bolt of lightning. Seeing his pair get hurt because of his own element was strange, but why couldn’t he feel it?

“You must be confused, let me answer your question. You can’t feel him getting hurt and he can’t feel you getting hurt. These rooms reverse your physical abilities and numb your mental abilities.” The nurse rolled her robotic eyes in fake annoyance.

The nurse held out her hand and formed an icicle out of thin air. Without giving him any time to prepare she threw it at Minseok. Throwing his hands up, Minseok tried to deflect it. Pain shot through his shoulder as the icicle impaled itself into his arm, in the same place he hit her earlier. Crimson blood flowed down his arm at a steady pace. While he was focusing on his arms, a strange feeling started crawling up his leg. Minseok looked down quickly and was shocked to see ice slowly encasing him.

“Welcome to your own personal hell, Experiment Zero-Nine-Nine.” She chuckled coldly.

 

 

 

Luhan pulled the car around and let Zitao and Junmyeon out first. Quickly parking the car away from the back door of the coffee shop. Making sure the police couldn’t see them, they quickly went into the back. Junmyeon didn’t need to ask where the secret room was considering there was a suspicious cement like square just sitting in the cold room. Zitao closed the door behind Luhan and stayed toward the back in case they need to stop and escaping villain. Luhan carefully removed the heavy stone and walked down in front of Junmyeon. Daesuk was seen in the same spot, but this time he was weak and shivering. Junmyeon chuckled cruelly.

“This is the man that has caused us so much pain?” Junmyeon asked Luhan.

“He is, indeed.” Luhan growled as he looked at the pathetic man.

“Y-You could just l-leave me down h-here to die.” Daesuk started to chuckle, but couching interrupted him.

“Where are Minseok and Jongdae.” Junmyeon had enough of this man’s games.

“I just d-don’t understand. I gave y-you another chance a-at life.” The man looked at Junmyeon with disbelief.

“Tell us where they are.” Junmyeon growled back.

“You’re going to r-run out of time. T-They are in the place I c-chose to “hide”.” The man laughed softly, he could feel himself starting to let go. Junmyeon grabbed his phone from his pocket and called Kyungsoo.

“ _Hello?_ ” Kyungsoo answered a lot quicker than Junmyeon thought he was going to.

“Hey, Daesuk hinted at the company. Are you guys there?” Junmyeon asked quickly.

“ _Yeah, we got into one of the ‘Staff Only’ places. I think we have figured out this company’s dark little secret. What do you want us to do?_ ” On Kyungsoo’s side of the phone, it sounded like he was swatting Jongin away from the phone.

“Wait there, we’re coming now. We’re running out of time, we need to do this fast.” Junmyeon turned away from the evil man and nodded to Luhan. As cruel as it was, Junmyeon didn’t think the man was going to last any longer. Even if they wanted too, they couldn’t save him now. Zitao was still keeping watch for his older brothers when they reappeared. Luhan quickly put the cement-like block back on the exit of the small facility.

“We need to get to the company, Kyungsoo is sending me backdoors. We don’t want to attract too much attention.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo and Jongin left the room they were in, they needed to act normal if they were going to get away with this. Kyungsoo knew plenty of backdoors, Baekhyun would use them a lot when they were new to the company, so he could pretend he wasn’t late. Or sometimes to get away from Daesuk to get some coffee. The coffee wasn’t far away from the company, so it wouldn’t take the other’s too long to get there. A few minutes later, Junmyeon texted him. Kyungsoo and Jongin quickly let the three in and put “Guest Passes” on all of them to hide suspicions. Walking slowly, to make sure the coast was clear, they made it to the room Kyungsoo and Jongin were in earlier.

“Jongin and Zitao, I want you to stay here and be look-outs. If anything happens, Zitao freeze time long enough for Jongin to get all of us out of here.” Junmyeon said quickly. After the two younger kids nodded, the others ran off. These halls were made with the exact same material that the coffee shop room was made out of. The clock was ticking, but they were getting closer to ending this nightmare.


	21. Frost and Thunder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A character death scene, mental and physical torture, explicit violence, explicit language, kidnapping mentioned. If I forgot anything, please let me know so I can fix it straight away. 
> 
> Note: Italicized text in this chapter means the scene is happening in the mental plane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter~

Junmyeon led the other two down the hall, leaving the look-out roll with Jongin and Zitao. The exterior of the building didn’t do the interior justice. On the outside it looked like a normal building, only a couple of stories tall. On the inside, it turned into a maze. In the normal part of the building, it looked completely normal. A granite front desk with a receptionist, sitting in a leather chair, ready to help out. Dance practice rooms down the left hall, recording studios down the center, and script reading rooms down the right. Pristine white walls and white tiles gleamed in the sun.

That all changed when they entered the double doors with a crimson ‘Staff Only’ sign. An ugly metal lined hallway graced their vision. That awful hospital smell wafted throughout the small hall. As they ran, the hall seemed to decrease in width but increased in length. No matter how fast they ran, the hall continued on. Junmyeon stopped suddenly causing Kyungsoo and Luhan to smack him to him from behind. In front of him stood a shocked Zitao and Jongin.

“We just went in a huge circle, we’re missing something.” Junmyeon turned to Kyungsoo and Luhan.

“Did either of you see another path we could have taken?” He asked the two of them.

“Let’s go through again and see if there is any difference in the walls.” Luhan started down the beginning again.

The second time through they were a lot more observant, nothing really seemed out of place. Until Kyungsoo saw something off. A certain part of the hall looked like a sad imitation. When Kyungsoo pointed out to the others, they all felt really dumb. It was a wall painted to look like the rest of the metal hall, but obviously it wasn’t concerning the colors weren’t even the same. Luhan stopped Kyungsoo from going in and carefully walked in first. As soon as Luhan pushed open the fake wall ice cold smoke surround him. To Luhan it was just like the small experiment facility under the coffee shop. When he decided it was safe, he allowed the other two to follow him in.

The room was lined with inactivated robotic nurses. Directly across the room was another doorway. Very quietly the three of them moved toward the other doorway. It led to a black downward spiral staircase. Kyungsoo looked over the side, he couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black at the bottom of the staircase. It took them a little longer to get down the stairs than it should have, considering as they continued it got darker. Junmyeon grabbed on to both Kyungsoo and Luhan, just so he knew they were still there. Junmyeon’s heart started beating like crazy. They couldn’t even see their hand in front of their face, but they still continued on their path. Until Luhan smacked face first into something.

“Junmyeon, I found a door. Or the door found me.” Kyungsoo chuckled at his older brother.

“How do you know it’s a door?” Junmyeon asked softly.

“Cause the door handle is digging itself into my body.” Luhan retorted back.

Junmyeon could hear Luhan trying to muffle the sound of him opening the door. As soon as Luhan cracked the door open, the light burned their eyes. It was a horrible contrast to the pitch-black void they were just in. When their vision came back to them, Junmyeon rolled his eyes with annoyance.

“How many hallways are we going to run into?” Junmyeon shook his head and walked in front of the other two just in case there was trouble ahead.

This hall was cold but not as cold as the room above the staircase. The faded lights glowed menacingly against the iron walls. Twelve doors, six on either side, then the hall ended. This hall was meant to contain them. On each door, there was a symbol. The same symbols that were given to them on Exoplanet. These symbols represented everything Exoplanet was. Kyungsoo ran over to the door with his symbol on it and looked through the window.

In the back of the room, there was a bed with restraints attached. On the left side of the bed, a deactivated nurse stood next to it. Kyungsoo backed away and looked at the older too. Junmyeon walked down the hall to the room with Minseok’s symbol on it. He looked into the window and saw Minseok laying on the bed with the restraints attached to his wrists. A deactivated nurse by his side. Junmyeon waved the other two over.

“Luhan, if that thing becomes active, can you restrain it?” Junmyeon asked quietly.

“Of course, that thing can’t beat my ability without those stupid chemicals.” Luhan rolled his eyes at the thought of the sedatives.

Junmyeon slowly opened the door, Luhan immediately locked his gaze on the robot. Kyungsoo and Junmyeon ran over to their eldest brother. The restraints dug into Minseok’s skin, causing a rash to form on both of his wrists. Kyungsoo pried open one of the wrist restraints, ripping it open without breaking a sweat. While Kyungsoo focused on the restraints, Junmyeon used his ability to stop the chemical filled IV bag from continuing its purpose. Minseok seemed to be completely out of it.

As long as Junmyeon could keep the chemicals from entering his older brother, Minseok would wake up within a few minutes. While the two of them were working quickly, Luhan tried contacting the other two upstairs. So far, they haven’t seen any of the Red Entertainment Staff. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo made quick work of freeing Minseok. The robot on the side didn’t even move. Quiet and quick, this was almost too easy. Luhan didn’t like how easy this turned out to be. Luhan made sure the robot stayed in its place while the other two carried Minseok out of the room.

“Shall I run down to Jongdae’s room?” Luhan asked.

“Go make sure he’s in there, Kyungsoo and I will wake Minseok.” Junmyeon nodded quickly.

“Minseokie~” Kyungsoo patted Minseok on the cheek a couple of times.

Junmyeon placed his hand on Minseok’s arm. Inside that room, Minseok was a little warmer than he usually was. Now that they left the room Minseok was starting to become cooler again. Because of Minseok’s ability his presence was a lot colder than anyone else. Junmyeon shivered slightly when it was cold enough for frostbite.

He let go when it became too much. He loves his older brother, but he really doesn’t want to deal with frostbite right now. Kyungsoo kept calling Minseok’s name and patting him on the face. It was taking a little longer than Junmyeon originally thought. Luhan was on his way back from the end of the hall.

“What’s it look like in there?” Junmyeon asked when Luhan settled next to him.

“I don’t want you going in there. It won’t be dangerous for Kyungsoo, it’ll be a little dangerous for me, but it will definitely be fatal for you to walk into that room.” Luhan made sure Junmyeon caught his serious gaze.

“That bad?” Kyungsoo asked softly.

“Jongdae is asleep, but he is sending sparks all over the room. Junmyeon can you control the IV from the door?” Luhan asked Junmyeon, concern dripping from his voice.

“It’s possible, oh! He’s waking up.” Junmyeon and Kyungsoo backed up a little bit to give him some space.

Minseok slowly opened his eyes, he was expecting to see the nurse standing over him with an icicle in her hand ready to stab him again. Instead, he saw Kyungsoo. Minseok pressed himself against the wall and looked at his younger brother with shock. He shook his head in disbelief, Minseok really hoped that this wasn’t another allusion.

“Kyungsoo?” Minseok reached out hesitantly, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. If this was another allusion, it would break him. Kyungsoo smiled and reached out to hold Minseok’s hand. As soon as their hands touched Minseok let the tears fall. Minseok sprung forward and wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo tightly.

“Minseokie~” Kyungsoo consoled their eldest brother. Minseok looked around and saw Junmyeon and Luhan smiling gently at him. Minseok pulled the other two into the hug and tried to wipe away his tears. He was tired of crying. Then something clicked. Jongdae.

“Did you guys already get Jongdae out of here?” Minseok pulled away and looked at them with pure panic.

“No, we waited to wait until you woke up first.” Luhan answered quickly, sensing the panic.

“We need to go get him!” Minseok stood up, a little too quickly. Kyungsoo shot up when Minseok started to wobble a little bit.

“We’ll go get him, I want you to stay with Junmyeon.” Luhan demanded carefully.

Luhan and Junmyeon stood next to them and Kyungsoo transferred Minseok to Junmyeon. Luhan and Kyungsoo ran down to the last door on the left side of the hall. The room was the same size as Minseok’s, in fact, everything was generally the same. The nurse was in the same place, next to the bed which was against the opposite wall, and the same bed with restraints. The only difference was the state of the patient. Minseok was sleeping somewhat peacefully, while Jongdae pulled at his restraints and thrashed violently. Lightning bolts all over the place.

“I can calm him down if you get him quickly.” Luhan whispered to Kyungsoo. Minseok and Junmyeon came up slowly behind the other two.

“Junmyeon, I need you to try to stop that IV.” Luhan whispered to Junmyeon. Closing his eyes, Junmyeon focused on the IV bag. He held out his hand and stopped the flow through the IV bag.

“Alright, it’s done.” Junmyeon nodded to Luhan. Minseok tried to help Junmyeon by trying to freeze the start of the IV bag.

“Alright Kyungsoo, I’m going to try to calm him. When you see a chance that’s safe, go on in and pull him out.” Luhan closed his eyes and focused on Jongdae.

_When he opened his eyes again, he was shocked. Jongdae’s mental plane was messed up. When he made the mental plane, the landscape for each person was always different. It incorporated their happiest memory and recreated the scene. Jongdae’s happiest memory was in his home when he made his first invention. The scenery that was recreated was the blue moon setting as it shined through the golden sector of Cerauno._

_Now, however, it was completely black. The only thing that Luhan could see was Jongdae. He was on the ground crying in pain, lightning bolts struck him from time to time. His element was attacking him. The blue chemical in his IV must be active when they got Minseok out it wasn’t active. Luhan ran forward, he completely forgot about the rogue lightning. Luhan cried out in pain when he was struck. Electricity shot through his veins causing him to convulse. He gasped and slowly got on to all fours. Slowly crawling toward Jongdae, it hurt way more than he remembered._

_“J-Jongdae.” Luhan rasped out._

_When he reached out to touch Jongdae, his heart skipped a beat because of the jolt he received. Luhan unfolded his younger brother from the protective ball he put himself in and held him close. Luhan started to hum for the younger boy. Jongdae always loved to sing, it always calmed him down. As he continued to sing, Jongdae started to calm down a little bit._

_“L-Luhan?” Jongdae called out hesitantly._

_“I’m here Jongdae. I’m here, Kyungsoo is here, Junmyeon is here, and Minseok is here. We’re here for you.” Luhan whispered to Jongdae. He grunted when another jolt shot through him. Luhan doesn’t even remember the last time Jongdae lost control._

_“Open your eyes, Jongdae. I’m here now, I promise.” Luhan whispered softly. Jongdae leaned into his older brother’s embrace and slowly opened his eyes._

_“Luhan, you should leave here. I’m dangerous, I’m a monster.” Jongdae tried moving away from Luhan, who only tightened his grip._

_“No Jongdae, you are not a monster. Their making you lose control. This is your element. You were born with this element. It can’t hurt you.” Luhan whispered back. Luhan gently ran his fingers through Jongdae’s hair. He needed Jongdae to trust him and fast. While they’re here they have no idea what’s happening on the physical plane. Jongdae must have felt his concerns and slowly opened his eyes._

“Is Minseok okay?” Jongdae asked softly.

“He will be. Trust me, he wants to see you as much as you want to see him. He would have been here with me, be he’s a little weak right now.” Luhan smiled softly at his younger brother. As soon as he opened his eyes, the allusion of his power rejecting him disappeared.

“Then I supposed we should get back before that old man has a heart attack, huh?” Jongdae chuckled softly.

 

Luhan opened his eyes and nodded at Kyungsoo, what seemed like twenty minutes was actually only about five on the physical plane. The random lightning bolts stopped, and it was now safe enough for Kyungsoo to slide in and get Jongdae. Luhan and Kyungsoo walked into the room quietly, the robot seemed to be deactivated. Kyungsoo ripped open the restraints and picked Jongdae up. Luhan watched the robot with hawk eyes. It still seemed too easy. Minseok cried as soon as he saw Jongdae out of the room. It didn’t take very long for Jongdae to wake up.

“Did you miss my electric personality?” Jongdae croaked out and smiled at Minseok when he saw him. The other rolled their eyes at Jongdae’s question. Luhan, Kyungsoo, and Junmyeon let Minseok sit down on the ground for a second to rest. Luhan didn’t like any of this it was all too easy.

 

 

 

“Oh, how the tables have turned. The monsters have arrived.” Daesuk chuckled. He knew they grabbed Minseok and Jongdae. He didn’t care anymore. Although he was dying in this room. Although he suddenly felt warm as life left him, he laughed. Daesuk started laughing hysterically.

“You’re out of time.” Daesuk whispered. He won and now he could finally let go. Daesuk smiled one last time as his final breath left his body.


	22. The Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Physical and mental torture, explicit language, explicit violence. If I forgot anything, please let me know so I can fix it. 
> 
> Quick Note: The first italicized text is happening in the mental plane, while the next two are set in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter!

Yixing gently placed his hand on Chanyeol’s forehead. It was definitely easier to take care of Chanyeol now that Sehun was finally awake. Yixing rolled his eyes at the sound of Sehun bickering with Kris downstairs. He softly ran his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair and sighed. His ability only healed the physical injuries. This mental state that Chanyeol was stuck in is difficult to break through. Yixing carefully scooted Chanyeol over a little bit and laid down next to him and closed his eyes.

 

_Yixing expected to feel a breeze at least. He winced as he opened his eyes, the light burned. Everything was white, and the smell of hospital drugs invaded his senses. From the looks of things, Chanyeol is trapped in a memory. The underground facility where they stayed for most of their youth. Room 461, if Yixing remembered correctly. He walked down the hall carefully. He wasn’t a part of this specific memory, theoretically, the nurses wouldn’t be able to see him. Better to be safe than sorry._

_This hall looked familiar, this was definitely his least favorite hall. Although it held Chanyeol and Baekhyun, it also led to a room specifically designed to harness Jongdae’s ability and use it against them. Heels clicked down the hall behind him, in a moment of panic he quickly walked through a door to his right. He fell against the back of the door, hiding from the window’s view._

_A woman’s figure created a shadow, a moment later she was gone. Just to be sure he waited a few more moments and stood up. A constant beeping sound caught his attention, he turned around and felt the panic rise within him. Chanyeol was attached to a heart rate monitor and an IV drip. Yixing rushed over and placed his hand on his forehead. Surprisingly, there were no physical injuries. He gently grabbed the IV and disconnected it from his younger brother. He froze and listened for that familiar clicking from the uniformed heels. Yixing patted Chanyeol on the cheeks lightly. He slowly started to wake up._

_“Y-Yixing?” Chanyeol looked at him confusedly._

_“Hey, Chan. Nice to see you awake, well sort of.” Yixing smiled gently._

_“How did you get out?” Chanyeol looked at Yixing, panic completely shadowing over his eyes._

_“I didn’t need to, this isn’t real. This place only exists in your mind. We need to get you out of here.” Yixing looked at the restraints and looked for a way to release them._

_“We can’t go- I can’t go. I have to stay here, with him.” Chanyeol shook his head and looked over to his right side._

_“What are you talking about, this is no longer our world. The others are waiting for your return. We need you at home, with us.” Yixing found a couple of wires attached and followed them to where they're connected into the wall._

_“Yixing, Baekhyun is here. He’s alive here.” As he talked to Yixing, he remembered the world outside of this one. He remembered the burning pain that consumed his heart when Baekhyun was taken away from them. Yixing stopped messing with the wires and looked at Chanyeol. His younger brother had his eyes closed while tears cascaded from them._

_“Channie, Baekhyun is still with us. Daesuk failed at his attempt to take him from us.” Yixing gently wiped away his tears._

_“I felt it, he left us. Even if it was only for a moment, he left.” Chanyeol shook his head as more fell without his approval._

_“Chanyeol, we need your help to get him back. The only way to do that is to get you out of here.” Yixing smiled gently and pushed the tears away again. Chanyeol opened his eyes, another person was present in the room._

_“Yixing, watch-!” A stun gun was shot off, hitting Yixing in the back. He fell to the floor and convulsed and screamed as pain ripped through him._

 

He sat up quickly, gasping for breath as he looked around. He was in his house, laying down next to Chanyeol. Yixing looked down at his brother and sighed sadly, Chanyeol was still unconscious. The door slamming open startled him. A panicked Kris panted in the doorway.

“Are the others here? Are Minseok and Jongdae hurt?” Yixing stood up quickly and began thinking of all possible injuries his brothers might have. He stopped thinking when Kris shook his head.

“It’s Sehun, something is wrong.” Kris managed when he caught his breath. Yixing immediately ran past him and down the stairs. Sehun was against the opposite wall, trembling with fear.

“Sehun, what wrong?” Yixing asked softly.

“I-I can’t… Where am I?” Sehun didn’t know why he felt calm in the presence of this man.

“W-Who are you?” He asked the man softly.

 

 

 

Luhan contacted Jongin and Zitao, less than a second later they were all back at Yixing’s house. Kyungsoo complained about the fact they left the car, so Jongin had to pop them back to receive it. Luhan and Zitao helped Minseok and Jongdae walk into the building. Junmyeon smiled when Kris walked out to greet him, but it quickly disappeared when he noticed Kris wasn’t happy.

“What happened while we were away.” Junmyeon addressed it quickly.

“Sehun woke up, but a few minutes ago he fell into a panic attack. Yixing had to calm him down, he couldn’t remember either of us. It lasted a couple of minutes. He’s alright now, but Yixing thinks this isn’t the last time that this is going to happen.” Kris hugged Junmyeon close to him. He was ecstatic to see Junmyeon, he was worried about his love but never doubted him. He let go when Junmyeon froze. Junmyeon remembered something from their past with Daesuk. It made sense to him now, they are out of time.

 

_"You must find the missing few together, this game won't end until all twelve are reunited. You have a time span of 5 years. When your time is up, starting from the youngest, you will all forget your past lives and each other." The figure spoke loud and clear. If the others weren't awake before, they are now._

_"What are you talking about, what game?" From Junmyeon's side, Kris growled at the man._

_"I wish you all good luck, do not disappoint me." From around the room, an odorless gas released from little capsules. The six of them started coughing, soon it was difficult to keep his eyes open. Junmyeon tried to stay awake, he noticed the man had opened the door to the cage and was standing in front of him._

_"It begins with you." That was the last thing Junmyeon heard before he lost consciousness._

_Junmyeon looked at Kris and shook his head. Kris could see the panic taking over in Junmyeon’s eyes and placed his hand gently on his cheek. Junmyeon’s words made his blood run cold as he also remembered the conversation with Daesuk before this game began._

_“We’re out of time.”_

 

 

 

 

 

“Mr. Byun, can you hear me?” A gentle voice called out to him. As he opened his eyes, the world appeared around him. A doctor stood beside him and smiled softly at him. Baekhyun tried to speak, but he was stopped by the doctor.

“Do not talk, not yet. Your throat will be a bit sore.” The doctor reached over and put a straw near Baekhyun’s mouth allowing him to drink from a cup of water.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Byun?” The doctor asked.

“Like I got hit by a bus…” Baekhyun rasped out.

“Well, thankfully you were found just in time. We’ve been healing nicely since the surgery. You will be closely monitored as the wound continues to heal in case of infection. If you feel any pain at all, press the emergency button on your remote.” The doctor pointed at the remote connected to the bed. The doctor left him to his thoughts. Baekhyun wondered where Daesuk had run. Baekhyun blamed himself he should have seen it coming. Daesuk changed so much in such a small amount of time. Baekhyun felt exhausted, he just wanted to rest.

 

_“Baekhyun! We’re getting out of here soon, aren’t you excited?” Baekhyun turned around to see a boy with a red eye running at him with a huge smile on his face._

_“Aren’t you afraid of what’s out there? What if all humans are like the doctor?” Baekhyun didn’t even recognize his own voice. He was younger than he remembered._

_“Don’t let the others here you say that. Junmyeon is still trying to calm down the kids, they’re going to get us caught if they’re not careful.” The other boy said softly._

_“You’re avoiding the questions again.” Baekhyun felt himself sigh and he rolled his eyes. The boy walked up to him carefully and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun. Although on the inside Baekhyun was freaked out, on the outside his body relaxed into the hold and he wrapped his own arms around the other boy._

_“You don’t need to be afraid. As long as all of us are together, we’ll be okay.” Even though he didn’t know this boy, he felt safe in his arms._

 

 

 

As soon as Junmyeon walked into the house, Sehun attached himself to his side. He didn’t bring up anything that would make Sehun upset, that’s the last thing they needed. They didn’t want to scare Sehun anymore than he already was. Chanyeol was still asleep, but at least Minseok and Jongdae were home now. As he looked around the room, he smiled bitterly. Their light isn’t present. Shivers slowly traveled down his spine. There isn’t even a trace of him within their connection. It was unsettling. Although there’s eleven of them here in this house made for two or three, they all felt empty knowing that one is still missing.

Before they came in, Junmyeon told Kris to keep what they remembered away from the others. The two of them knowing that they are out of time is bad enough. Junmyeon has no idea how they are going to get near Baekhyun. When they are alone again, Junmyeon needs to start planning with Kris. The last time Junmyeon heard, reporters were still circling around the hospital like lions ready to pounce. With all of those reporters, there has to be security inside of the hospital and of course all of the staff. Junmyeon cursed himself softly, forgetting for a moment that Kris could hear his thoughts, if only he run into one of them sooner then they wouldn’t be out of time.

He spent three years thinking he was happy with his career, but his family was right around the corner. Hearing stories from Kyungsoo about how he and Baekhyun fought. Knowing that Baekhyun had a difficult time, all on his own, it drove Junmyeon crazy. When they were in the underground facility the boys used to joke around saying that Junmyeon was the mother, while Kris was the father of their small group. Knowing that one of their boys had a difficult time killed both of them. Now their boy was in the hospital because of a crazy madman. Now their youngest is forgetting everything.

If they can’t get Baekhyun to remember, if Baekhyun just decided they’re all crazy and call security on them, they’re going to lose the kids starting from Sehun. Junmyeon sat down at the kitchen table, while Kris herded the others into the living room. Kris came back in quietly and gently rubbed calming circles on his back. This whole nightmare was starting to break Junmyeon down. It was difficult watching his love go through so much. Watching him slowly starting to break, it killed Kris. Although Daesuk is his father, seeing what that man did to Junmyeon and the others… Kris didn’t feel bad for his father. Kris just figured its simply karma. Now though, as Kris watched Junmyeon beat himself up, Daesuk’s game isn’t over. It just got a lot more difficult.


	23. We Are (almost) One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There are mentions of physical and mental torture, explicit language, explicit violence, and blood. If I missed anything let me know, so I can fix it right away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter!

Baekhyun was getting so bored. He was really starting to hate the color white. It wasn’t a huge loss in his life, he never really liked it anyway. Something about the color was always too clean like it was hiding something horrible underneath. His friends laughed at his paranoia when they were little. The nurses were also getting upset with him. Every time they walked in they scolded him. Either he was playing with the bed controls, the television remote, or singing a little too loud.

Could they really blame him, what else was he supposed to be doing? Baekhyun was a little afraid of falling asleep. It left him vulnerable. He was afraid of crazy fans breaking into his recovery room or worse Daesuk. A couple of police officers came in to ask him about what he remembered from that night, and that Daesuk hasn’t been caught. The fact that Daesuk was still out there scared him more than any amount of crazy fans coming after him.

Baekhyun sighed and returned his bed to its original state. The nurses shouldn’t be back for a while. This hospital had a strange consistency with their uniforms. They all wore red visors. Baekhyun didn’t really mind, it was just a strange touch. Baekhyun closed his eyes and relaxed enough to slip away from reality for a little while.

 

 

_Baekhyun slowly opened his eyes and sighed. It seemed like the only color he saw anymore was white. He didn’t understand what his dreams were trying to tell him. A loud sound ripped him from their thoughts. The boy was brought back again. When the boy saw him, he stopped fighting the woman behind him and smiled. The woman left the two in the room, Baekhyun felt completely uncomfortable with the other boy in the room._

_“Baekhyun! I’m so glad to see you. They didn’t hurt you, did they?” The other boy asked quickly. Baekhyun didn’t answer the other, he kept his eyes down and wanted to disappear._

_“Baekhyun, please talk to me.” The other sounded so desperate. Baekhyun felt his heart drop into his stomach and it felt like he was swallowing molasses._

_“I- no one hurt me… Can I ask you s-something?” Baekhyun asked quietly._

_“Of course, you can ask me anything.” He felt the other smiling like no tomorrow._

_“W-who are you?” Baekhyun refused to look up from his lap._

_“My name is Chanyeol.” On the outside, he was smiling gently at Baekhyun, but on the inside, his heart started cracking. Before Chanyeol could say anything else the door opened again, and the doctor stepped inside._

_“Hello boys, let’s begin shall we?” The doctor’s smile sent shivers down their spines._

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon and Kris stayed in the kitchen and tried to plan out something. The night had been difficult. Sehun would wake up from time to time and start panicking. Every time he woke up, he didn’t know where he was. One time during the night he was quiet, too quiet. If Kris and Junmyeon hadn’t been awake, Sehun would have left the house. When Junmyeon and Kris stopped him, he started crying and tried to get away from them. He kept saying that he didn’t know where he was, who they were, he panicked saying that he needed to get back to school.

The fight in the kitchen ended up waking up the others as well. Kris knew that Junmyeon felt hurt in more ways than one. Sehun hurt Junmyeon during his escape, not too bad though. Yixing was able to take care of it without blinking, but the mental effect that had on Junmyeon was clear. Kris felt everything Junmyeon felt, their baby attacked them without feeling any remorse. Of course, they couldn’t blame him. Sehun was completely heartbroken when he finally came back to them.

 

 

_Sehun opened his eyes and immediately panic consumed him. This was not his dorm room. He sat up quickly and scanned the room. There was a couple of people laying down on the floor below him. If he stayed quiet, he had a chance to get out of here. He got out of the bed as quietly as he could and maneuvered around all of the bodies littering the floor. He remembered the ballet shows his mother watched when he was younger and put all of those ballerinas to shame._

_As soon as he was out of the room, he thought he was home free. Seeing the kitchen light shining through the dark room made his heart sink. He quietly made his way down to the kitchen, hoping there was only one person for him to overpower, but of course, he isn’t that lucky. Two men were sitting at the table in the middle of the room. They had their heads down, so Sehun was hoping they fell asleep but it was highly unlikely. As soon as he stepped into the room, the taller man lifted his head and Sehun curses inside his head._

_“Sehun, why are you awake? Are you alright?” The taller man looked at him with a lot of concern._

_“I’m fine, just wanted to take a walk.” Sehun was thrilled that his voice was steady._

_“Sehun, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You’ve been going through a lot lately.” The smaller man looked at him sadly._

_“I just want to make sure I can set everything aside for school tomorrow.” Sehun thought he was a genius until the two men looked alarmed._

_“Sehun, you don’t need to go to school anymore.” The smaller man said softly as if he was afraid of spooking Sehun. A little late, if you asked him._

_“Sehun, what’s my name?” The taller man asked him carefully._

_“What kind of ridiculous question-“ The smaller man cut him off and stood up._

_“Sehun I know you must be very confused right now, but everything is okay.” The two men threw up their hands as if stating they weren’t here to hurt him. He backed up as they slowly made their way forward._

_“Listen I don’t know why I’m here, but if you let me go I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Sehun offered quietly._

_The two men just shook their heads sadly at him and they continued walking forward. Sehun looked around for anything he could defend himself with. He ran over to a couple of drawers and ripped them open, he hit the jackpot. He had a knife to defend himself. When the other men saw what he had grabbed, they both looked nervous._

_“Sehun put the knife down.” The smaller man looked like Sehun called him every horrible thing he could ever think of._

_“Stay away from me. I gave you both a chance to let me go.” Sehun growled at them._

_The tall man lunged at him, Sehun avoided him and ran toward the door. He thought he had a chance when he was suddenly tackled from behind. Sehun screamed as he kicked and thrashed against the small man, using the knife in his hand. Sehun stabbed the man and ran when he heard the other cry out and let go. He was so close to making it out the door when suddenly he was stopped. An invisible wall stopped him from continuing to freedom. Sehun growled in frustration and pound his fists as hard as he could against it. As he tried to break through the barrier, more hands grabbed him and forced him to the ground. Sehun screamed as loud as he could, hoping someone would hear his cries. No one came._

_Sehun felt so tired, and against his will, his eyes closed. When Sehun finally woke up again, everybody looked at him concernedly. The only people not in the room was Junmyeon and Yixing._

_“Where’s Junmyeon and Yixing?” Sehun looked at his other brothers cautiously. They all released a breath they were holding and smiled softly at him._

_“They’re in the other room.” Kyungsoo spoke softly as if he was afraid of scaring his younger brother._

_“Did I forget again?” Sehun looked around sadly when the other nodded. Sehun got up and walked out into the living room. Yixing was healing Junmyeon shoulder, Sehun saw Junmyeon’s shirt next to them on the couch. The left shoulder was slightly coated with blood. Sehun felt his whole world freeze._

_“Did I do that?” Sehun asked softly. Junmyeon and Yixing lifted their heads when they heard his voice._

_“Sehun it’s okay, you didn’t mean to do it.” Junmyeon stood up but winced in pain as he moved his shoulder. Sehun felt the dam break and tears cascaded down his face like a waterfall. He could feel himself slipping away._

 

 

 

It took Sehun a long time to finally calm down. He wouldn’t leave Junmyeon’s side and he is currently determined to never fall asleep again. Before everything went down, Kris and Junmyeon finally had a plan that they could bring to the boys. Jongin didn’t want to leave Sehun’s side, so it ended up being Yixing, Junmyeon, Sehun, and Jongin on the couch while the other boys fought over the remaining furniture. Yixing asked Kris to take his spot so he could go check on Chanyeol.

“Alright, Kris and I may have found a way to get to Baekhyun. Although the reporters seem to be rooted to their spots, it’s still a hospital. They can’t block the entrance or the exit. Kyungsoo and Jongin can walk into the hospital and walk to the front counter to ask what room Baekhyun is in. You both can be considered co-workers considering the person at the front isn’t going to be in the mood to check too far into it. As long as you both still have your company cards. Once you find the room Baekhyun is in, Jongin will pop back and grabbed Zitao. Once Zitao is in the hospital he can freeze time and Jongin can make the remaining trips back to get a couple more of us. Some have to stay here to protect Chanyeol and Yixing while the rest of us are gone. The group that will be going is Jongin, Zitao, Kyungsoo, Jongdae, and myself.” Junmyeon looked at Kris and he nodded in agreement.

“I don’t agree with this.” Jongdae shook his head and grabbed Minseok’s hand in a panic.

“What’s the matter Jongdae?” Junmyeon asked softly, noticing the movement from his younger brother.

“As much as I want to see Baekhyun again, I really don’t want to leave Chanyeol and Yixing here. I also want to stay with Minseok, I don’t feel comfortable with leaving them here. I also think you and Sehun need to be next to each other. It also doesn’t look like Sehun is going to let go of you any time soon.” Jongdae chuckled.

“Alright, so it’s settled then?” Kris looked around for any more objections or concerns. Jongin stood up and swayed.

“Jongin?” Sehun followed his friend and held out his arms in case Jongin collapsed. Jongin turned around and looked at Sehun confusedly.

“Where am I? W-Who are you?” Jongin held his head and backed up away from Sehun. Knowing exactly what was going on, Sehun turned to Junmyeon with fear in his eyes.

“It’s okay Jongin, you’re safe here.” Junmyeon stood up slowly. Sehun took one look into Junmyeon’s eyes and knew this was not the time to freak out. Instead, he turned and started speaking softly to Jongin. A couple minutes passed and Sehun had to dive to catch Jongin as his legs collapsed. Jongin shook his head and took a couple of deep breaths. Jongin looked at the others and sighed.

“We have to do this fast.” Jongin said with a sad smile.

“Are you alright? Do you want to continue with the plan?” Junmyeon ruffled Jongin’s hair gently and helped the two younger boys up.

“Of course, Baek needs us.” Jongin smiled at Junmyeon and his eyes sparkled with determination.

“Daesuk will not win. We are stronger together.” Kris smiled and carefully held Junmyeon in his arms.

“We are family. We are one.” Junmyeon smiled at Kris and gave him a nice, sweet peck on the lips. Causing a sea of groans and whines from the kids in the room.


	24. Slowly Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mental and physical torture, mentions of kidnapping, explicit language, explicit violence, and blood. If I missed anything, please let me know so I can fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you like this chapter~

Jongin and Kyungsoo hopped into the car and drove to the hospital to see what kind of warzone they would have to get through. It wasn’t bad on the way, but when they got there the road disappeared under a sea of reporters just camping outside the hospital while leaving enough room for the entrance and exits. They covered up and parked the car, the last thing they wanted was to be all over the news. As they walked in, they stopped short. The lady at the front counter wore a red visor. Immediately they knew this hospital wasn’t what it seemed to be. They need to play this smart, so they didn’t set off any alarm bells.

“Excuse me, Ms.” Kyungsoo tried getting her attention, but she was really into whatever she was typing.

“Could you tell us what room Byun Baekhyun is in?” Jongin asked from Kyungsoo’s side.

“Listen, I can’t tell just anyone where Mr. Byun is. Are you family or friends with Mr. Byun? If neither of the above, leave.” The woman rolled her eyes and looked at the two boys.

“We’re co-workers.” They both pulled out their company cards, she didn’t even look at them and told them the room number Baekhyun was in. The two didn’t want to question it, she didn’t seem to care anyway. They walked down the hall and looked for the room. It was a little bit away from everything else. Kyungsoo walked into the room and check it out, making sure there weren’t any doctors in the room. The two calmly walked in and looked at their friend sadly. Baekhyun looked so peaceful, sleeping on the bed.

“I’ll keep watch, Jongin. Continue on with the plan.” Kyungsoo said quietly. He didn’t even notice when Jongin teleported away to get Zitao. Kyungsoo walked closer toward Baekhyun. He gently brushed his hand through Baekhyun’s hair. He felt anger rise within him when he saw the bruises adorning his friends face.

“Baekhyun, why didn’t you tell me?” Kyungsoo asked softly.

He regretted everything he said to Baekhyun. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t even notice when time had stopped. One by one the rest of the group arrived. One by one they looked at their broken brother. Junmyeon gently pushed them aside. Baekhyun wasn’t his son, but they were taken from their parents at such a young age that it felt like he was. Despite everything, Kris and Junmyeon raised the kids as best as they could. To see Baekhyun laying on the hospital bed, it killed him. Junmyeon was glad that Kris stayed behind. If Kris saw Baekhyun like this, he would ask Zitao to turn back time, so he could kill Daesuk himself. Junmyeon knew that feeling, but there are more things at stake than getting revenge.

“Junmyeon, what do we do?” Kyungsoo asked softly.

“If we can get him back to Yixing, a gunshot wound shouldn’t take long for him to heal. Sehun can you ask Yixing how Chanyeol’s doing? I don’t want to bring back Baekhyun if there are problems with Chanyeol.” Junmyeon never took his eyes off of Baekhyun. He still couldn’t believe that someone could do this to one of his boys. When they ran from the facility the first time, with all of their boys by their side, Kris and Junmyeon thought it was over. They could finally be free, and the kids could live a little. It wasn’t much, but it was always enough. Now as he looks at Baekhyun lying on this hospital bed, he just wondered where it went all wrong.

“Junmyeon…” Sehun gently called out to him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Yixing said it’s alright to bring Baekhyun home. Chanyeol is still unconscious, but he’s okay.” Sehun smiled gently at him.

“Thank you, Sehun. Baekhyun, it’s time to come home.” Junmyeon smiled at Baekhyun and gently ran his fingers through his soft hair again. Junmyeon gently reached over and took out the IV in his arm. He looked at Jongin and motioned him over.

“We need to be fast, as soon as he’s in your arms he will be in pain. We just took away the painkillers. This is going to hurt him a lot. You can’t worry about that right now, just get him to Yixing.” Junmyeon looked at him seriously. Jongin nodded quickly and slowly grabbed Baekhyun from the bed. The effect was immediate, though he was knocked out his face showed pain as the wound became irritated. Jongin disappeared and took his brother home.

“Why did we all need to come, if Jongin can just teleport him back?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Kyungsoo, I did this for a couple of reasons. The first reason being in case anything went wrong. The second being I needed you to see what this world has done to us. I know you are happy here, but this is not our home. Our home is with each other. Whatever happened Kyungsoo, it doesn’t matter. The way you were looking at Baekhyun when we arrived, that’s the same look you used to give him when you called him a light bulb. Whatever regret you have inside of you, don’t run from it. I can see it in your eyes now.” Junmyeon looked into his younger brother’s eyes, sure enough, shame covered every square inch.

“Now is not the time. You love your brother, and your brother loves you. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have allowed you to call him a light bulb. Don’t worry about whatever happened between the two of you.” Junmyeon smiled at him softly.

“We are family, we’re all we’ve got.” Kyungsoo quoted Kris from settling a dispute years ago between him and Baekhyun.

“Let’s go home, okay? We still have to get two members of our family out of their seemingly eternal nap.” Junmyeon tried to lift the atmosphere a bit.

Jongin chose that moment to come back and start taking the rest of them home. Sehun and Suho waited for Jongin to come back after a couple of trips. Suho stayed alert while Sehun continued to look at the bed where Baekhyun once was. It all became fuzzy for him, why was he here. Sehun held his head as he tried to remember, a splitting headache being the only response to his questions. A man suddenly popped into the room, sending Sehun to the ground in shock.  The other man in the room looked at him confusedly.

“Sehun?” The man that popped into existence looked at him with fear. Shouldn’t he be afraid? That man did the impossible.

“Why am I here? Who are you?” Sehun turned his attention to the normal man on his right side.

“Sehun, he’s just here to bring us home.” The normal looking man smiled at him softly. Sehun’s heart began racing in his chest.

“I’m not going anywhere with that monster!” Sehun stood up and back toward the door quickly. He ignored the monster’s hurt look.

“Sehun! Do not call him that! Come with us, everything will be explained.” Sehun turned when his back hit the door and ran, he ignored the calls from the normal looking man and ran out of the hospital. Unaware of something watching him as he ran as far as he could.

Junmyeon turned to Jongin, he was frozen in his place. Tears dripping down his face, Junmyeon knew that Sehun’s words cut Jongin deep. Junmyeon stepped closer to the younger man, Jongin didn’t move. He wrapped his arms around Jongin carefully, he didn’t want to startle Jongin anymore than he already was. Jongin ripped himself out of Junmyeon’s arms and wiped away his tears.

“We have to go after him.” Jongin said softly. Before Junmyeon could say anything, Jongin headed out the door to follow Sehun. Junmyeon grabbed his wrist before he could leave and turned the younger man to face him.

“Right now, we need to get you home. Sehun knows where Yixing’s house is. I’m afraid if we don’t get you home now, we might lose you too. If we can just get Baekhyun to remember, this will all be over.” It hurt Junmyeon to say these words, but he knew it was the smartest decision he could make right now. As annoyed as Jongin seemed to be, they left the hospital and returned to Yixing’s home one brother short.

“Junmyeon, thank god you’re here. There’s a problem-“ Kris stopped midsentence when he noticed Sehun wasn’t in the room.

“Where’s Sehun?” Kris asked quickly.

“Sehun lost his memories again. He ran before we could explain anything to him.” Junmyeon explained in a hushed tone.

“You didn’t go after him because?” Kris asked, raising his voice a little bit.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me. We need to get Baekhyun and Chanyeol to wake up. Once they wake up, we can get Baekhyun to remember. When he remembers, it should end this game. Sehun will come back to us once this game ends.” Junmyeon growled coldly and walked away from his partner in crime to see what the other emergency was. As soon as he left the kitchen, all he heard was panicking. Junmyeon picked up his speed and ran up the stairs in record time. Kyungsoo was pushing the kids away from Yixing’s room. Yixing was trying to focus on Chanyeol and Baekhyun at the same time. Blood streamed from their eyes. Neither one seemed to be panicking, without the small streams of crimson coming from their eyes, Junmyeon would have thought they were just sleeping.

“Yixing, what’s going on?” Junmyeon asked immediately.

“Something is going on in their mental plane. Junmyeon, can you go into the mental plane while I heal them? I can’t risk going in there and letting them bleed out.” Yixing looked at him desperately.

Junmyeon laid down slowly, he was a little afraid of what he might see on the mental plane. He was never one that could handle seeing his boys hurt. As he closed his eyes, he braced himself for the scene on the other plane. Unfortunately for him and Yixing, it takes him a minute to relax enough to slip into the mental plane.

_As Junmyeon opened his eyes again, shock filled him. This wasn’t his mental plane, this also wasn’t present day. He expected to see their first home together. His happiest memory was after their escape, their first real home on Earth together. Pristine snowy walls sneered at him, he quickly sat up in his bed and peered around the room. He was alone, but not tied down. He sat up and looked out the small window on the door, he tested it the knob and it opened. He wasn’t surprised considering this wasn’t his memory. Junmyeon followed the hall, as he passed the other doors and windows dread fell over him. The lights flickered and completely shut off, leaving him in a pitch-black hallway._

_One light flickered back on, above a single room at the end of the hall. He peered through the window and gasped quietly. A small room held his two boys as prisoners. Baekhyun strapped to a table, Chanyeol strapped to a chair across from him. The room was soundproof, but as Junmyeon looked at the scene he could hear everything._

_Chanyeol screamed and thrashed against his restraints, his eyes flashed from their natural hue to fiery red constantly. Baekhyun cried as the nurses surrounding them watched him wither in pain. Black liquid followed the IV into his arm. Junmyeon remembered that liquid, it enhanced their powers until it became unbearable. The robotic woman smiled at Baekhyun unkindly and flipped the switch near her again. The liquid was released from the bag and continued its path into Baekhyun. He gasped as power flowed through him. Baekhyun’s eyes turned blinding white, Junmyeon had to look away in order to keep his sight. The lights continued to flicker violently._

_Junmyeon tried to look at Baekhyun again, his veins joined his iris’ in being bright white. He switched his gaze to Chanyeol. The other also had an IV with the black chemical being pumped into him. His own eyes turned scarlet, along with his veins, as fire licked his skin. The nurse closer to Baekhyun motioned to the one closest to the switch to shut it down. As soon as it was switched, water dropped from the ceiling effectively putting Chanyeol out._

_The boy shivered from the water and breathed heavily. Baekhyun fell unconscious and slowly started to stop glowing. The nurses then turned and walked out a door that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Junmyeon carefully tried the door, it opened. Junmyeon wasn’t sure if the nurses could see him since this wasn’t his memory but seeing his boys suffering didn’t leave him a lot of room to care. He rushed to Chanyeol and looked over him quickly._

_“Chanyeol.” Junmyeon called out quietly, he tapped his younger brother on the cheeks a couple of times._

_“Junmyeon…” Chanyeol looked at Junmyeon, but he wasn’t “seeing” Junmyeon._

_“Help, Baek…” Chanyeol said quietly. Junmyeon smiled sadly, out of all of their brothers; Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the closest despite how their story began._

_Because of this, Junmyeon knew Chanyeol would not accept any type of help while Baekhyun was also being hurt. He gently ran his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair and turned to Baekhyun. Junmyeon walked slowly up to Baekhyun. His younger brother had better days. His jet-black hair strikingly contrasted against his ghostly pale skin. His breathing uneven and sweat beaded on his forehead. Junmyeon carefully ran his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair. The other boy didn’t move an inch._

_“Baekhyun…” Junmyeon whispered quietly. His heart cracked a little more._


	25. Light Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentions of mental torture, mentions of physical torture, mentions of kidnapping, explicit language, explicit violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading~ I hope you like it~

_Baekhyun slowly opened his eyes. A man that he has never seen before stood over him, but he wasn’t afraid. The man had a calming atmosphere around him. He was crying as he looked at Baekhyun. He shifted his gaze to the other man. The taller, now soaked, man on the other side of the room looked at him sadly. Baekhyun still didn’t understand the situation._

_“Who are you?” Baekhyun asked quietly._

_“My name is Junmyeon, but you used to call me Suho when you were younger.” Junmyeon smiled gently at Baekhyun._

_“Suho? Like a Guardian?” Baekhyun looked a little confused._

_“Yeah, like a Guardian.” Now that Baekhyun was awake, Junmyeon walked over to Chanyeol._

_His restraints weren’t complicated, two wires lead Junmyeon to the panel on the other side of the room. Junmyeon quickly walked over to the panel and looked it over. Everything was in a language he didn’t understand. He was getting frustrated, he doesn’t want to hurt Chanyeol, but he really wanted to destroy this panel. Junmyeon decided to try and unplug the wires. Is this a horrible idea? More than likely._

_“Chanyeol, I’m going to try to pull these plugs out. I apologize in advance.” Junmyeon placed his hands on the wires and pulled._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_Nothing happened._

_Junmyeon let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. He looked away from the panel to see Chanyeol bracing for pain. Baekhyun, on the other hand, looked like he was bracing for an explosion. Junmyeon rolled his eyes at his two dramatic younger brothers. They made the same faces every time he would try to fix the toaster when they were in their first home._

_“Guys… I’m bad with technology, but I’m not that bad with technology.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes and dropped the wires. As soon as the wires hit the ground, Chanyeol’s restraints dropped in unison. Chanyeol stood up quickly and rushed over to Baekhyun’s side. Junmyeon watched both doors while Chanyeol helped Baekhyun down._

_“Baekhyun, I know this is going to be confusing, but you need to trust us.” Chanyeol spoke softly as if speaking too loudly would shatter Baekhyun completely._

_“I don’t understand, why did he help us?” Baekhyun was tired of not receiving answers._

_“Because we’re family.” Junmyeon answered as he looked at the two doors._

_“Baekhyun we need to wake up now. Our family is waiting for us.” Chanyeol held out his hand for Baekhyun to take._

_“I don’t know who you are-“ Baekhyun tried to step away from his restraints, as soon as he took the first step he collapsed. Chanyeol caught him quickly and he held him carefully. Junmyeon looked at the pair and walked up to them slowly and slowly dropped down to his knees in front of them._

_“Baekhyun… I know you have no reason to trust us, but it’s important that you trust us right now. This is a memory; this hell isn’t forever. Change the memory, think of something that makes you happy.” Junmyeon smiled gently at his younger brother._

_“I-I don’t understand…” Baekhyun shook his head and looked away from Junmyeon._

_“Baekhyun, ignore everything around us. Think of something that makes you happy.” Junmyeon tried again, he ran his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair gently. The atmosphere turned calm despite their situation, and Baekhyun closed his eyes. The world warped around the three, Red Entertainment surrounded them. Daesuk entered and smiled at the only one he could see, Baekhyun._

 

**_“Hello, Baekhyun. My name is Daesuk, it has been decided. We have been watching you closely. You have a lot of talent. You will be debuting soon enough, keep working hard.” The man smiled at Baekhyun. “Do you think I’ll be able to Debut?” Although Baekhyun wasn’t talking, a younger version of Baekhyun’s voice surrounded them._ **

**_“I’ll actually get to debut?” A younger version of Baekhyun hopped up excitedly._ **

**_“Yes, actually we are going to debut you with another trainee. His name is Do Kyungsoo.” The memory faded. A younger version of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were standing in front of them._ **

_Junmyeon tore his gaze away from the scene and looked at Baekhyun, his eyes were shut so tight that Junmyeon thought they were going to tear open. Chanyeol kept his eyes on the scene before them as he held Baekhyun in his arms. Junmyeon turned back to the memory while trying to keep Baekhyun calm._

 

 

 

**_“Baekhyun, I need to talk to you.” The younger Kyungsoo look nervous, Baekhyun stopped practicing their dance and spun around with a smile._ **

**_“Kyungsoo! You’re here! Great, let’s get to work.” Baekhyun quickly ran over to replay the song from the beginning._ **

**_“No, Baekhyun-“ Kyungsoo was cut off while Baekhyun’s energy caused him to bounce around the room._ **

**_“Baek-“_ **

**_“Baekhyun, if you would just listen-“_ **

**_“Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo face turned beet red after yelling. Baekhyun stopped and looked at him, eyes wide with shock._ **

**_“I need to talk to you.” Kyungsoo pulled Baekhyun toward the floor and sat down in front of him, motioning to Baekhyun to do the same._ **

**_“An opportunity has come up. I went to an audition for acting and it went great, but they want me to practice more.” Kyungsoo tried to beat around the bush, hoping Baekhyun would get what he was trying to say. The other boy had no idea._ **

**_“I don’t want to be an idol trainee anymore, I want to be a trainee in the acting department.” Kyungsoo was afraid to look Baekhyun in the eyes. Suddenly, Baekhyun started laughing, and he stood up._ **

**_“That’s great, Soo. Why didn’t you tell me you were working on your humor? You almost got me!” Baekhyun walked toward his phone, still chuckling quietly._ **

**_“Baekhyun, I’m serious.” Kyungsoo stood up and looked at Baekhyun, no waver in his expression to say otherwise. Baekhyun turned around slowly and froze. Kyungsoo never kept the jokes up for long, as he looked at his friend a chill covered his spine painfully. Kyungsoo was being serious._ **

**_“Kyungsoo, we’ve been working for so long and so hard! You can’t be serious!” The chill running down his spine disappeared and turned violently into panic._ **

**_“I am serious, Baekhyun. Please accept my decision Baekhyun, this is something I really want.” Kyungsoo held his hands up and backed up._ **

**_“How can I?! We’re supposed to debut together! This is our dream!” Baekhyun yelled at him._ **

**_“This is your dream!” Kyungsoo screamed back. The two stood there, breathing heavily and rage swimming in their eyes._ **

**_“I don’t have time for this, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo sighed disappointedly and turned to leave._ **

**_“Leave, you quitter!” Baekhyun yelled as Kyungsoo let the room. Both of them had tears streaming from their eyes, but neither wanted to turn around and say sorry. Not now. Maybe a day will come when they can._ **

 

 

_Junmyeon shook his head at his younger brothers. They were always at each other’s throats. It seems even in this world, that never changed. Baekhyun was shaking in Chanyeol’s hold. The memory started shifting once again._

 

 

**_The younger Baekhyun smiled as he walked into the company holding a small bouquet of flowers. They were Kyungsoo’s favorite because the actor he looked up to loved them as well. He was going to apologize, and everything would be okay. Baekhyun was told that Kyungsoo was visiting his friend in the producing department. He was directed to where they would be and was about to knock on the door when he heard bits of their conversation._ **

**_“I just can’t believe him, what a two-faced jerk!” Kyungsoo growled._ **

**_“I can’t believe he would do something like that, Kyungsoo. I mean I don’t know the guy, but you two used to be so close.” A lower voice spoke softly._ **

**_“I never want to speak with him again.” Kyungsoo snarled._ **

**_“Kyungsoo, you both work for the same company, you have to at some point.” The low voice reasoned with his friend._ **

**_“Fine, but I won’t be nice about it.” Kyungsoo scoffed._ **

**_“You know he has like the biggest crush on you.” Baekhyun gasped quietly when he heard Kyungsoo say that._ **

**_It was supposed to be their secret. Baekhyun looked at his flowers, tear stains somehow looked more beautiful upon the small canvas. He slowly backed away from the door and turned away. Baekhyun threw the flowers in the trash and ran out of the producing department. He slammed a practice door shut and slid down to the floor. Baekhyun locked the door and cried for hours._ **

 

 

_Chanyeol closed his eyes and hugged Baekhyun a little tighter. He remembered that conversation, but he didn’t know that Baekhyun was there. Baekhyun pulled himself away from Chanyeol, crawling away from them. Chanyeol tried to hold on to him, but Baekhyun pried away from him. The memory still hurt him, he preferred it when he didn’t remember. The memory changed again, Baekhyun crawled away from the both of them. A hand wrapped around Chanyeol’s heart and squeezed as he watched his pair cry by himself and crawled away from him._

 

 

**_“Boys sit down and tell me what happened,” Kris asked sternly._ **

**_“I was just messing around and I said he looked like a pebble. I didn’t know he was having a bad day.” Baekhyun quickly explained._ **

**_“Why is that the first thing you think of when you see me! That’s the reason I called you a lightbulb. It really hurt my feelings.” Tears started welling up in Kyungsoo’s eyes._ **

**_“I-I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Baekhyun felt really bad. He had no idea that Kyungsoo was having a bad day._ **

**_“Alright, now boys while we are here. Have a seat, there is something we need to discuss.” Kris decided that something needed to be said. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo sat down, they both seemed a little nervous. Kris sighed and sat down in front of them. This wasn’t his strong suit._ **

**_“We can’t keep doing this. We are all we have. There are so many people out there that would love to hurt us. Please don’t hurt each other anymore. We need to protect each other.” Kris said softly._ **

 

 

_Junmyeon and Chanyeol watched carefully as memories attacked Baekhyun. Memories from their past together and from his past in this world. The memories seemed to go on for years until everything just stopped. The world around them changed again. The tiled floor turned into soft grass and the lights became the red sun. Junmyeon and Chanyeol stood up slowly and walked to Baekhyun. He was laying on the grass looking up at the sky._

_His eyes were empty as they looked at the red sun without a problem. His element reached out to him like a mother’s arms comforting her child. Baekhyun reached up to touch the light flowing to him. It wrapped around his hand and arm like a snake. Softly slithering down his arm, consuming him. Pristine white eyes glowed brightly as they watched the small white snakes return home. Chanyeol and Junmyeon had to look away, the light continued to glow. Eventually being too bright to look at. When they looked back again, Baekhyun stood in front of them smiling. He rushed forward and jumped at Chanyeol._

_“Channie~ I knew you’d find me.” Baekhyun hugged Chanyeol tightly. Chanyeol ripped himself from his shock and squeezed Baekhyun as tight as he could. Junmyeon smiled at his two brothers, allowing them to have this time to themselves. He didn’t even realize when Baekhyun stood in front of him._

_Junmyeon tilted his head and looked confused as Baekhyun looked hesitant. Baekhyun held out a hand as if asking for permission to touch him, Junmyeon chuckled and reached forward to grab Baekhyun’s hand. He pulled the younger boy to him and held him tightly. Small tears fell on to his shirt, but he ignored them. Junmyeon pulled away first and held Baekhyun’s face in his hands. He wiped away the heartbreaking streams and smiled. Junmyeon pressed a kiss on the younger boy’s forehead, his motherly instincts kicking in._

_“Welcome home, Baekhyun.” Junmyeon wrapped his arm around Baekhyun and grabbed Chanyeol with the other. Pulling both his boys into a bone-crushing hug._

 

 

 

A knock caught Yixing’s attention, he no longer had to keep an eye on the boys. They stopped bleeding long ago and everything else seemed to be healthy. Kyungsoo stood at the door, his look of panic shot through Yixing’s spine. Kyungsoo’s always been one of the calmer ones in their family.

“Soo, what’s the matter?” Yixing asked quickly.

“Jongin knocked Jongdae out. He forgot and freaked out. He hit Jongdae with one of the lamps downstairs. He’s okay now, but he thinks he killed Jongdae.” Kyungsoo said quickly.

“Alright, you stay here and watch these three.” Yixing left the room quickly and walked downstairs. Kyungsoo wasn’t kidding. Jongdae laid on the ground, bleeding from a gash in his head, while Jongin cried over him; asking for him to wake up. Yixing carefully got on his knees and held his hand over the wound. Closing it quickly, Yixing checked for any other injuries. Jongdae opened his eyes and looked around.

“Jongin has a mean swing when he’s frightened.” Jongdae joked as he sat up, only to be attacked by a crying Jongin. As soon as he thought he had a chance to rest, Kyungsoo ran to the railing.

“Baekhyun and Chanyeol are awake!” He yelled down before running back to the room.

The other boys quickly followed, charging up the stairs with long strides. As they all fell into the room, Yixing smiled at the sight before them. Kyungsoo, eyes full of tears, hugged Baekhyun like he was going to disappear at any moment. Baekhyun stood up and hugged all of his brother, happy to see them all again. All except one. Baekhyun looked around and turned to Kris and Junmyeon, sadness clear in his eyes.

“Where’s Sehun?”


	26. A Demon Is More Dangerous When He's Invisible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Explicit violence, explicit language, mentions of the hospital, mentions of an accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is near~

_He ran as fast as he could. Thankfully the hospital he was in wasn’t far away from his house. How much school has he missed? Do his parents know he went missing? After running for thirty minutes, he busted into his front door._

_“Mom? Dad?” He called into the home. His mother walked out into the main room and smiled at him._

_“Hello dear, why didn’t you tell us you were coming for a visit?” His mother looked at him happily, but confusedly._

_“What do you mean? Weren’t you worried?” Sehun looked around, nothing had changed. Everything was still in its place._

_Sehun walked passed his mother and into his room. It still looked as empty as it did when he left for college. He ran out into the living room and looked at their family calendar. It still said that it was the day after he job shadowed Chen. His mother followed him around as he frantically looked around and gently placed her hands on his shoulders._

_“Of course, we are worried dear, how was your job shadow?” His mother smiled at him gently._

_“I-It went fine?” Time stopped while he was away._

_“That’s great dear. Well now that you came for a visit, we can eat like a family when your father gets home.” If he would have taken a moment to actually look at his mother, he would have noticed that her eyes had a crimson glow._

 

A day later from his return, he was still beyond confused. Nothing changed. His grades were still the same, his friends kept reminding him about the huge party coming up, and a reminder for their small project meeting at the coffee shop. His father loved telling him how proud he was, every waking moment. Everything was the same.

Although it was weird that no time had passed, Sehun was glad to have something he remembered. Those strange people at the hospital were in the back of his mind. Sehun opened his computer to look at his classes and sighed. A term paper was due soon. Of course, no breaks for the college student… Sehun sighed and began continuing his paper.

 

 

 

“He’s not coming home.” Kris was trying to help a devastated Junmyeon, who was currently beating himself up because of his decision to let Sehun go.

“You needed to get Jongin home. You knew that if the two of you chased after Sehun there would have been a chance that Jongin would forget and instead of losing one, you would have lost both of them.” Kris gently rubbed soft circles on Junmyeon’s back. This week was very hard for all of them, getting Baekhyun back meant losing Sehun.

Kris was so far into his thoughts that he didn’t notice Baekhyun standing in the doorway looking at the two of them. Baekhyun smiled sadly and walked up to the older two. He hugged Kris tightly and asked him quietly for time alone with Junmyeon. Kris only agreed because he wanted to go check on Jongin and Zitao, both have started having more forgetful fits since it was made clear that Sehun was not going to return right away. When Kris left, Baekhyun moved Junmyeon toward him. Junmyeon smiled gently and stood up.

“What’s up, Baekhyun?” Junmyeon opened up his arms and smiled when Baekhyun dived into them.

“I’m sorry about all the trouble I caused.” Baekhyun sighed into Junmyeon’s arms.

“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you fast enough.” Junmyeon hugged the younger boy tightly.

“I-I want to go out and find Sehun.” Baekhyun pulled away and looked at him seriously.

“Baekhyun, we will find-” Junmyeon was cut off by Baekhyun.

“No, I mean alone. Jongin and Zitao are both have issues remembering. Soon it’ll be Kyungsoo and Chanyeol… You need as many people here as you can have. Also, if I go alone it won’t scare him. If most of us go, he’ll feel attacked.” Baekhyun talked quickly, so Junmyeon couldn’t stop him.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Both boys turned to the gruff voice at the doorway. Kris stood there and looked at the two of them carefully.

“Kris, no. I do not like this plan. We just got Baekhyun back and now you are agreeing to send him out there, alone?” Junmyeon faced his other half with fury in his eyes.

“Junmyeon, I understand your concerns. However, Baekhyun is right. We’re starting to lose our boys, one by one.” Kris shook his head and walked carefully up to Junmyeon.

“We’re out of time. We need to do something quickly, or we are going to lose our family to this sick game.” Kris gently grabbed Junmyeon by the arms and looked into his eyes. Junmyeon knew by now when to hold his tongue. He wasn’t going to win this fight.

“Mom have a little faith in me.” Baekhyun jokingly rolled his eyes at Junmyeon and spoke with a jokingly annoyed tone.

“Baekhyun, when are you going to leave?” Kris turned and looked at the younger boy.

“I have to leave now. The faster I find him, the better. Jongdae has already given me the information from Sehun’s university. I’ll try to make this quick, hopefully, time is on my side.” Baekhyun smiled softly at the two of them, only to frown when Junmyeon kept shaking his head.

“What if you get recognized? How are you going to explain that you were magically released from the hospital?” Junmyeon asked quickly.

“I’ll worry about that when it happens. Right now, my main priority is Sehun.” Baekhyun knew Junmyeon was worried for him and Sehun. After all, he just woke up and now everyone is forgetting, this is difficult for everyone.

“I know you both all too well… I don’t like this, but I know I can’t fight either of you on this.” Junmyeon turned to Baekhyun and gently brushed away some of his bangs from his face.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.” Junmyeon grabbed the younger boy into a tight hug.

“I promise I’ll be careful. We I return, Sehun will walk through that door with me.” Baekhyun pulled away and smiled brightly at Junmyeon.

“Take your cell phone, otherwise you are grounded, Mister.” Kris pointed his pointer finger at the younger, who pouted.

 

 

 

 

Everything was the same, but it felt so wrong. He was still performing well in school, his friends acted like nothing changed and maybe nothing changed at all. Maybe he was just acting crazy. He couldn’t stop thinking about the men in the hospital. They felt so familiar, but they were strangers all the same. Nothing makes sense anymore. Every time he turned his back, he heard their voices.

_“Don’t call him that.”_

_“Sehun wait, please!”_

Turning toward the voices, no one was there. He left his parents’ home and went back to his dorm at the university. His roommate wasn’t around, so he had some time to himself to just sit and think. Why was he at the hospital, who was hurt? Why did he feel horrible that he called the one man a monster? He appeared out of nowhere, since when is that normal? A knock at the door ripped him from his thoughts. Sehun sighed and walked over to the door, leaving his term paper for the time being. A shorter boy stood in front of him and smiled brightly. A little too brightly if you asked Sehun.

“Hi! Are you Sehun?” The younger boy asked happily, a little too happily…

“I am, and who are you?” Sehun asked quietly.

“I’m Baekhyun! I’m a new student here and my advisor said that you are apart of the communications department? I was hoping you’d be able to help me around?” The boy, now known as Baekhyun, smiled hopefully.

“Uh, yeah. Sure. I’m just doing a term paper. Do you want to go to lunch with me?” Sehun wasn’t sure why he was chosen to do this, but he didn’t really care. It would be good to get away from the term paper for a while.

“Yeah! Sounds great.” Baekhyun remind Sehun of an overly excited puppy, seeing the world for the first time.

 

 

 

 

“Zitao, I need you to calm down. Everything is okay-” Jongdae was cut off when a shoe kicked him in the face. Jongdae stood up, sparks flying from his fingertips.

“Jongdae stand down.” Junmyeon said quickly.

“He just Crescent Kicked me!” Jongdae looked at Junmyeon with disbelief.

“Oh, trust me, we all saw it. Now come over here.” Junmyeon tried to keep a straight face, now was not the time to laugh at Jongdae’s misfortune. Half of the boys were upstairs keeping Jongin calm, while the rest of them were downstairs trying to keep Zitao in the building. Jongin seemed to stay calmer with Kyungsoo around. Kyungsoo was familiar to him. Now if only Kyungsoo’s fits would stop and let them all take a breath.

 

 

 

 

While Baekhyun and Sehun went off to lunch, Baekhyun played with the lights all around them. Making Sehun see things that weren’t actually there, glimpses of their brothers here and there. Baekhyun knew Sehun could see the glimpses because he jumped every time he saw Jongin and Junmyeon. Seeing the others, however, just seemed to confuse him. Especially when he saw two Baekhyun’s, one next to him and one on the other side of the room.

“Are you alright?” Baekhyun asked after taking a bite out of his sandwich.

“Yeah, I’m fine. The term paper might be driving me crazy.” Sehun chuckled. Baekhyun stopped playing with the lights, for now, Junmyeon wouldn’t like it if he accidentally sent Sehun to the hospital for a heart attack or because he choked on his lunch.

“Do you have an idea about what you want to do after college?” Baekhyun asked keeping his smile present on his face.

“Yeah, I looked up to Chen a lot. You know the really loud guy on the radio? I think I might want to do that.” It was funny to Baekhyun how Sehun remembered Jongdae’s radio persona, but the Byun Baekhyun of this world disappeared. As did Kim Jongin, Do Kyungsoo, and upcoming producer Park Chanyeol.

“I can totally see you being a radio persona, you seem sassy to me. Everybody loves a sassy radio persona.” Baekhyun pushed him gently and chuckled.

“I can be pretty sassy when I want to be.” Sehun laughed along with Baekhyun and pushed the other back.

“So, tell me, what’s the cool place to hang out around here.” Baekhyun smiled and played with the sparkle in his eyes, showing Sehun that he was interested in everything he had to say.

“Probably the small coffee shop down the road. A lot of students tend to go there and grab a drink. That place is really busy during finals.” Sehun’s eyes widened when he remembered the chaos of last semester’s finals week.

“Oh gosh, I love the coffee shop.” Baekhyun couldn’t stop himself, so he just decided to play it off.

“Oh, so you’ve been there before?” Sehun smiled at the other.

“Only once or twice.” Baekhyun played off his mistake.

“That’s going to change. We’ll go there together, like right now.” Sehun stood up and grabbed Baekhyun’s hand, pulling him up and pretty much running out of the cafeteria. The two of them hopped into Sehun’s car, completely confusing Baekhyun. Since when did Sehun suddenly get a car? He never said anything about having a car before. Something felt wrong about this.

“How long have you had this car?” Baekhyun smiled at Sehun, keeping his worries away from Sehun’s line of sight.

“Not long, my father and I picked it out together.” Sehun didn’t really think anything of the question.

Baekhyun looked around as Sehun drove. A hand reached down his throat and squeezed around his heart. A familiar, and unwelcome, voice ran through his head. _Daesuk?_ Baekhyun gripped his head and clenched his teeth.

 

 ** _“How does it feel to be so close? It all ends where it began.”_** Daesuk’s horrifying laugh rattled through ** _twelve_** minds.

Sehun shook his head and tried to get rid of the strange voice in his head. The light in front of him was green, so he went. There was no warning, the yellow light never turned on. The red stop light cut off the green. Its haunting crimson glow shined in both of their eyes. Baekhyun turned to his window and saw another car speeding toward them. Its driver smiled at Baekhyun with sharp white teeth and glowing crimson eyes.  


	27. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning this chapter includes Mentions of kidnapping, explicit violence, explicit language, mentions of physical and mental torture. If a tag is missing, let me know so I can fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy the chapter, the end is coming soon~

**_“Please, leave him alone! Junmyeon!”_ **

**_“Sehun, as long as we are here you will be safe.”_ **

**_“They broke the agreement, we’re getting out of here tonight.”_ **

**_“Sehun, where are Baekhyun and Chanyeol? Ah, they’re going to be the reason we get caught…”_ **

_Sehun looked around slowly, he was no longer in a car. A small breeze danced through the sky. The red sun above him burned his eyes. He hissed and moved his arm over his eyes. The grass below him made him shiver as it chilled him to the bone. With a groan, he sat up. This place, although he’s never seen it before, made him feel safe. In the distance, a large danced with the wind. Sehun could see its golden leaves shimmering with the suns glare. He felt drawn to it. Slowly, Sehun got to his feet and began to walk to the vast form of life in front of him. As he got closer, the wind picked up in speed around him. Golden leaves started to fall from the dark red branches they once called one._

_The wind behind him became colder, a small thing floated in front of his face. Holding out his hand, a small snowflake landed on his palm. Frost snaked up the vast trunk of the tree and attacked every surface. A small golden leaf replaced the snowflake on his palm. This tree, like many others, was losing its leaves for the oncoming winter. Sehun gently placed his hand on the trunk, another leaf floated down directly to him. Sehun dropped the one in his hand and held on to the one floating to him. This leaf had his name embedded into it. Looking around him he noticed other leaves had names as well. Sehun’s name was in gold, some names around him were in silver but a few were just like his._

_Minseok, Luhan, Kris Junmyeon, Yixing, Baekhyun, Jongdae, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Zitao, Jongin…_

_As he looked at these other leaves, his own dropped next to leaf with the name Jongin, as if going back to where it belongs. The twelve leaves started to glow, Sehun leaned down and picked his up again only to be surprised when the glowing stopped. Sehun put it down and the glowing resumed. Behind him, someone called his name. He turned to see a man running to him, eyes wide and seemingly desperate. The man reached him and wrapped his arms around him. As soon as they touched, memories attacked Sehun._

**_The world seemed to just explode. Sehun was helping his mother in her garden when a figure cast a shadow over them. A vast object blocked the red sun from Exoplanet. His mother grabbed his arm and ran inside. Sehun looked out the window as his mother frantically called his father. Figures were dropping from the huge ship. Sehun watched until his mother grabbed him again. She held him close as she ran away from their home. Sehun noticed everybody was running while some people when getting ready to fight. His mother ran over their border and into the next sector. She gently placed him down and ran her fingers through his hair._ **

**_“Sehun, you need to run. If any adults approach you, run.” Sehun couldn’t understand, why is his mother telling him to leave her?_ **

**_“Mommy?” Sehun was too young to understand._ **

**_“Run Sehun! I will not say it again!” His mother was crying as she yelled at him. She’s never yelled at him before. It startled him, so he ran. As he ran he ignored the screams he could hear behind him. Tears blurred his vision. As he ran, he tripped. Sehun clutched his knee and cried, oblivious to the fact someone was watching him. Another kid walked out of hiding. Although his mother told him to stay hidden, this younger kid needed help._ **

**_“Hello?” Sehun whipped his head to the other person. Sehun slowly tried to get away from the other. His leg hurt every time he moved._ **

**_“Please, don’t be afraid. I’m not like the bad people.” The other kid said quickly, noticing Sehun’s panic._ **

**_“I see you’re hurt. I can help.” The other kid put up his hands carefully and lowered himself to Sehun’s height. Although Sehun didn’t trust him, every time he moved pain paralyzed him. The older boy walked closer and leaned down. His palms hovered over the injury and they started to glow. Soon enough the pain disappeared. Sehun sniffled and looked up at the other, tears slowly dripping down his face._ **

**_“There you go, all better.” The other boy smiled softly. Before Sehun could say anything, the pendant around his neck started to glow. The other boy pulled out his own necklace, which was also glowing._ **

**_“My name is Yixing.” The other boy dropped his necklace and wrapped his arms around Sehun’s neck._ **

**_“My name is Sehun.” Sehun wasn’t afraid anymore._ **

****

****

**_Sehun and Yixing kept running, the bad people kept chasing them. Yixing said he knew someone just like them, so that where they ran. Yixing always talked about the kid who played with water. He also told Sehun about the one who played with water and the boy’s friend who made ice. They didn’t make it, they saw the other two boys then the world disappeared._ **

****

****

**_Sehun woke up in the arms of a person he didn’t know. He scrambled and tried to get away, but a calm voice stopped him._ **

**_“Sehun, it’s okay. He’s a friend.” Sehun turned around and saw Yixing on the other side of the room._ **

**_“Hello Sehun, I’m Junmyeon. You’re safe with us.” Sehun looked at the other with confusion. Us? Sehun looked around and noticed there were a lot more kids in the room than he originally thought. Junmyeon stood up, making Sehun stand as well, and brought him over to the younger kids in the room._ **

**_“This is Jongin and Zitao.” Sehun and the other two clicked immediately, making the older boys in the room smile a little bit._ **

****

****

**_Sehun looked around, he was older now and he started to understand what kind of trouble they were actually in. His brothers would come back injured and he couldn’t help them. The others would allow Sehun, Jongin, and Zitao for small things like checkups or a scanning. They would never allow the youngest three to be taken for the tests. They would always fight for the three of them. Until the bad people had enough. The three of them were eventually taken for testing. Sehun screamed from the pain. He could hear Jongin and Zitao screaming as well. Sehun refused to let these monsters see him cry. They kept calling him a monster, but they were the only monsters in the facility._ **

****

****

**_Sehun sighed, when will they be able to live? Sehun was now old enough to understand that they were ripped from their home. Forced to comply with these experiments. Now they escaped and are running from the facility. Trying to escape from the monsters under their bed. For now, they’re safe. Junmyeon and Kris always did head counts, making sure Baekhyun and Chanyeol didn’t get lost somewhere, and they made them always go out with another person. Unfortunately for Junmyeon and Kris, Chanyeol and Baekhyun decided to be buddies. It’s not that Kris and Junmyeon dislike Baekhyun and Chanyeol, they just worry about the two boys. Sehun’s chose Yixing as his buddy, rightfully so. For now, they could be happy. For now, they’re safe. _ **

_Sehun wrapped his arms around Yixing and hugged him tightly. Tears streamed from his eyes, pouring onto Yixing’s shirt. The elder held him close, understanding that Sehun remembered. The wind around them picked up heavily and the tree’s branches started whipping in the wind. The two of them slowly parted and looked up at the tree. A symbol appeared on the trunk of the tree. The symbol of Light appeared before them. It cast a crimson glow on to them. Yixing and Sehun looked at each other for a moment. Why was Baekhyun’s symbol on the Tree of Life? A spark of light caught their attention, behind them a lightning bolt smashed into the meadow and ten figures stood in its place._

_Sehun and Yixing slowly started walking to their brothers. Suddenly, the world warped around them. Spotlights hovered over the ten figures in front of them. Their brothers fell to the floor violently. The lights above them exploded, leaving Sehun and Yixing in darkness. A single crimson spotlight turned on, the figure under it slowly lift his head. Sehun and Yixing stepped back, the glare given to them made them shiver. The atmosphere shot straight down their spines. An unforgiving, cold crimson gaze looked back at them._

_Baekhyun?_

 

 

Sehun gasped and sat up quickly. Looking around the room, all of his brothers were lying down anywhere they could fit. Yixing bolted up when he did, they were back at the house. Yixing smiled gently at Sehun and ruffled his hair carefully.

      “Did you see all that too?” Sehun asked quietly.

     “Yeah, I did.” Yixing carefully looked around and spotted Baekhyun. Sehun has never seen as much sadness in Yixing’s eyes as he did right now.

                     “What do you think it means?” Sehun looked at his older brother across the room.

           “I don’t know.” Yixing stood up, Sehun reached out and grabbed his older brothers’ hand.

“I’m just going to make breakfast, I know they’ll be hungry when they wake up. They stayed up all night because they were worried about you. Do you want to come with?” Yixing smiled at him softly. It killed him, but Sehun didn’t feel safe being in the same room as Baekhyun, not after what he saw. So, he nodded and followed Yixing downstairs.

                            “Now that everyone is here, does that mean we win?” Sehun asked quietly.

   “There was nothing to win. If you are asking about being done with Daesuk, then yes. We can be together, like a family again.” Yixing looked around for some ingredients to make enough food for 12 grown men.

    “Did you guys decide on anything while I was asleep?” Sehun grabbed an apple and munched on it.

     “Junmyeon wants to see if there’s a way to get us home. No matter how happy we are here, there is always going to be a question over us. What happened to Exoplanet? Is there any way to save it? Junmyeon thinks that maybe Jongin can get us back there. The problem is that since we don’t know the state of Exoplanet. If it’s dangerous or completely destroyed, we won’t have a way back to Earth.” Yixing shook his head and sighed.

       “Junmyeon wants to know, I’m afraid he won’t get the answers he wants.” Yixing turned to Sehun, and with a single look, Sehun understood what he meant.

                         “You’re afraid it’ll break him.” Sehun answered it out loud.

        “We’ve all been through a lot Sehun, but Junmyeon… I don’t know how much more he can take.” Yixing shook his head and continued making breakfast for the rest.

“When everyone wakes up, Junmyeon wants to try. He’s tired of being here. He’s tired of Earth.” Sehun chocked on his apple slightly.

                         “Isn’t it too soon?” Sehun asked after he carefully coughed up the apple piece.

      “I think he might be at the end of his rope. I really don’t think he cares anymore. Kris had to stop him from trying it immediately. He really what’s us to get far away from Earth.” Yixing finished making the breakfast and waited for the smell to wake up the hungry boy’s upstairs.

Slowly, but surely, the boy’s started making their way downstairs. Jongin ran up to Sehun and hugged him tightly, almost making him choke on the apple again. Sehun flinched slightly when Baekhyun patted him on the back, but he didn’t seem to notice. For now, as looked at everyone it was fine. No one was hurt, everyone remembered, almost as if they were a normal family again. Sehun wished it could stay like that.

  “So, tell me about the “car accident” Baekhyun and I were in.” Sehun looked around the room as he took a sip of his drink that he got from Jongdae.  


	28. Manipulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter has mentions of kidnapping, explicit violence, explicit language, blood, mentions of a car accident. If a tag is missing, please let me know so I can fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although this chapter is on the shorter side, the end is coming~

“What accident?” Baekhyun tilted his head slightly. Sehun was about to answer, but the look he received from Junmyeon told him otherwise.

“Accident? I meant: Watch Out Baekhyun~” Sehun thought quickly and tossed his apple at Baekhyun. The weirdest part of that whole exchange, Baekhyun bought it.

“I call the shower first.” Baekhyun nearly choked on his food as he scarfed it down. Baekhyun didn’t seem to notice all the concerned looks from the others as he left the room. It was quiet until they heard the shower running and Baekhyun singing loudly to himself.

“Sehun, there was no accident.” Kyungsoo said quickly. Sehun looked at him confusedly, but before he could say anything Yixing grabbed his attention by clearing his throat.

“There was an accident, but whatever you saw or thought you saw wasn’t actually there.” Yixing sat close to Sehun while the others quietly figured out a way to explain to the youngest the situation they were in.

“That’s not Baekhyun.” Chanyeol stood up angrily. Jongdae flinched away from the other as his temperature started to rise. Minseok immediately walked over and rubbed Chanyeol’s arms carefully. Cooling him down a little bit.

“Sehun the accident was real, but it was caused by Baekhyun.” Kris never looked up from his coffee, but even without seeing his eyes Sehun could tell he wasn’t lying by the thick atmosphere.

“We’re not sure why… We sent him out to find you. He “enrolled” in school. We were afraid that someone could recognize him, but it seems like the more of us that remember the more we disappeared from this world. What happened when he found you?” Yixing looked at Sehun carefully.

“He knocked on my door asking if I was Sehun, I said yes. Then he wanted me to show him around, but I was a little tired from working on an exam paper; so, I suggested getting coffee from the shop.” Sehun looked at Minseok.

“I figure the shop might return. Because we were never really a part of this world, out actions can’t truly affect it.” Yixing spoke softly.

“Can someone explain to me what you were talking about? Baekhyun tried to... Kill me?” Junmyeon looked at the youngest sadly, before he could comfort him though Tao attached himself to the other.

“He wasn’t trying to kill you. The plan we discussed before he left was to find you, befriend you, and slowly start to show you images of the rest of us.” Yixing shook his head slightly.

“I think he did… I slightly remember seeing glimpses of you all while I was driving to the shop.” Sehun interrupted quietly.

“Sehun, you were never driving to the shop. Baekhyun manipulated you more than you thought. You were driving here. We came out to greet you, but you panicked. You tried swerving, Luhan tried to steady the car but a flash blinded him, and the car flipped with the two of you inside.” Junmyeon explained quietly.

“I don’t… why would he do that?” Sehun looked up desperately. Sehun suddenly smiled brightly, confusing the others.

“Are you all still eating? You’re all pretty slow today~!” Baekhyun cheerful voice shouted from the stairs. Baekhyun bounced down the steps and hopped over to the table.

“Are the rest of you going to shower, or are we just going to go? We want to make a good impression when we go home~” Baekhyun’s smiled blinded the group momentarily.

“We’ll get going soon Baekhyunnie~” Jongdae spoke cheerfully.

“Ah~ I can’t wait, I’m so excited!” Baekhyun bounced away, either oblivious to the toxic atmosphere or he just didn’t mind.

“I don’t understand… I thought we were only supposed to win the ‘game’…” Junmyeon sighed and sit down.

“Maybe there’s more to this game than we realize.” Kris gently rubbed Junmyeon shoulders trying to ease the tension in them. Because of the harsh atmosphere, no one realized the sad pair of eyes watching carefully.

 

 

 

Baekhyun slowly looked away from the scene. Did he do that? Baekhyun thought he was helping… He smiled and yelled as loud as he could.

“Are you all still eating? You’re all pretty slow today~!” He cheerfully shouted from the stairs. Happily hopping into the room, he manipulated the light around them to make his smile sparkle.

“Are the rest of you going to shower, or are we just going to go? We want to make a good first impression when we go home~” He ignored the atmosphere around them.

“We’ll get going soon, Baekhyunnie~” Baekhyun heard the fake cheer behind Jongdae’s tone, it hurt him.

“Ah~ I can’t wait, I’m so excited!” Baekhyun bounced away, only slowing down when the others could no longer see him.

 

Was he really causing this much trouble? His pendant flickered slightly. He just wanted to go home. Baekhyun was sick of this world. Baekhyun walked up the stairs quietly and headed to the bathroom. He knew that the others wouldn’t be coming up the stairs anytime soon. Baekhyun looked at himself and sighed.

Despite the character he plays, he always hides behind the safety of his light. The ability of light manipulation hides a lot of misery. There’s no guarantee you’re actually looking at the real him. One little blink and he can change someone’s whole perception. Baekhyun walked away from the bathroom and went to the bedroom. The others were still downstairs, talking about him or their situation. Baekhyun sat down on the floor beside the bed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

 

_As he opened his eyes, he smiled. Pulling his knees to his, he looked around the room happily. His favorite place was their place. Although it wasn’t allowed, Baekhyun and Chanyeol met here constantly when they were younger. They didn’t really understand the idea of borders, they were all generally the same so why the separation? With the red sun above him and the warmth from it surrounding him, he felt safe._

_Their world was dangerous enough, sometimes there would be riots. The people hated the borders, their leaders insisted everything they did was for the people; to keep them safe. The people saw it as total control. Although it was true that some abilities were dangerous to their opposites, some enhanced the each other’s abilities. People like Baekhyun and Chanyeol enhanced each other’s abilities. Light and Fire are one in the same. The sectors started appearing slowly. Light and Fire were the first separated, they were seen as a risk to those in power._

_The people of Lavar are impulsive, hot-tempered, they act without thinking everything through; while the people of Soleis are gentle, thoughtful, and merciful. Together they were a threat. The presence of the Soleis helped the people of Lavar to think clearly and still be dangerous. While the people of Soleis helped the people of Lavar mentally, Lavarians gave Soleans confidence to become more powerful. Now, as they are, Baekhyun and Chanyeol complete each other._

 

 

 

Chanyeol looked around quietly, Baekhyun still didn’t return. Leaving the others to continue their quiet conversation, Chanyeol walked toward the bathroom. Baekhyun wasn’t there. A flash of light caught his attention. Small stars surrounded and swirled around Baekhyun, like a small galaxy. The lights were off, making the sight a little more beautiful. A little more breathtaking. Baekhyun hugged his legs to his chest and rested his head upon them. His eyes sparkled with a pristine white glow.

Although he was looking at his surroundings, he wasn’t seeing anything around him. Chanyeol quietly walked over to the other and sat down across from him. Their pendants began to glow softly, but to Chanyeol nothing was brighter than Baekhyun’s eyes. Whether it was because of their natural compatibility or because of Baekhyun’s personality, Chanyeol felt safe near him. This whole situation was confusing. Although it was great that Baekhyun is still alive, something was wrong. Somehow, even in death, Daesuk still haunted them.

Junmyeon wanted to start their journey home immediately, but every time Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun a chill crawled down his spine. As he looked at Baekhyun, he started to doze off. Until something warm fell from his face, the smell of iron overwhelmed him. Quickly opening his eyes, Baekhyun’s glowing, pristine white eyes turned into a cruel, crimson glimmer. Chanyeol tried to stand up, he needed to call the others. Tried to stand? Chanyeol looked down quickly and noticed his arms were restrained. Instead of seeing the floor he was sitting on, he saw a blindingly white mattress. His heartbeat started to beat faster, beating 100 miles per hour and nearly coming out of his chest. Chanyeol whipped up his head, Baekhyun was no longer in front of him and the house disappeared. Before he could say anything, a familiar voice filled the room.

**_“Baekhyun manipulated you more than you thought.”_ **

 

 

 

Ten heads looked up toward the ceiling. Two loud thuds crashed above them, Yixing bolted from his seat and ran up the stairs. Yixing found Chanyeol lying on the ground, Baekhyun was nowhere to be seen. Chanyeol’s eyes were open, his breathing started to calm down. Blood slowly dripping from his nose. Slowly the Lavarian sat up and shook his head slightly.

“Chanyeol what happened?” Yixing fell to the ground next to the younger man. The others found their place in the room.

“I don’t know? Where is Baekhyun?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened and he started to panic.

“Relax Chanyeol, we’ll find him. It’s okay.” Yixing carefully rubbed Chanyeol’s back comfortably, healing his nose while he was at it.

The rest of the boy’s looked at each other confusedly. Footsteps could be heard down the hall, the footsteps pounded in their ears, slowly they turned their heads to the open door. Junmyeon and Kris pulled the younger kids behind them. They held their breath as fear took a hold of their minds. Their heartbeats matched the pounding of the steps until it stopped just outside the room. Baekhyun popped into the room, his hair was soaking wet. He smiled as he rubbed his head with the towel in his hands.

“Hey, guys! The bathroom is open~ Let’s hurry, we want to make a good impression when we return!” Baekhyun’s smile brightened up the room.


	29. Naturally, Light Fades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter includes violent imagery, very explicit violence, explicit language, mentions of betrayal, impersonation, blood, choking, burning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go~

Chanyeol walked over to the smiling Baekhyun and grabbed him by the collar. He moved faster than anyone else, no one could stop him. Flames of rage consumed his eyes as he bared his teeth like a wild animal. Baekhyun’s small hands tried to pry the larger ones off of him.

“Who. Are. You.” Chanyeol growled in Baekhyun’s face.

“I don’t-“ Baekhyun was cut off by his own cry when Chanyeol lifted him and slammed him into the wall next to the door. Chanyeol ignored the sounds of their brothers behind them and threw up a wall of fire to keep them at bay. Glass crunched under his feet as he grabbed the man in question by his throat. He hardly even noticed the smell of burning flesh surround them as he squeezed tighter.

“I will not ask again.” Chanyeol snarled.

“Ch-Chan-nie…” Baekhyun looked desperately into Chanyeol’s eyes.

His attempts at removing the giant hands from his throat started to become less pronounced. It became harder to choke, let alone breath. Dark spots appeared in Baekhyun’s vision. A few tears fell from Baekhyun’s eyes. He didn’t care about the burns now eating away at his flesh, nothing will ever hurt more than the look of fear, betrayal, and anger that Chanyeol had given him.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his hands fell to his sides. Chanyeol couldn’t see anything, all he could see was red. Not hearing a response from the other, he continued to scream and slam the imposter against the wall. Suddenly Chanyeol was coughing up a lung on the floor and drenched. When he looked up he saw Junmyeon’s disappointed and horrified gaze.

“What have you done?” Junmyeon asked quietly.

Chanyeol’s gaze drifted over to the other man on the floor. Yixing moved slightly to asked Minseok for help, Chanyeol felt the air escape from his lungs. Baekhyun laid there, the flesh around his neck turned black as it continued to eat away at its prey. Even so, Chanyeol would not allow himself to feel sorry. He shook his head and stood up. He walked away from the scene, ignoring the calls from the others. One thought crossed his mind.

_That’s not Baekhyun._

 

 

 

It all happened so fast. Sehun was about to ask for the bathroom next when it felt like he was on fire. Sehun jumped away from Chanyeol and looked at him confusedly. It seemed like Chanyeol sprinted at Baekhyun, next thing they knew he slammed Baekhyun against the wall and growled at him. Until now, Sehun has never seen Chanyeol act so animalistic. It terrified him.

Jongin grabbed his hand gently, Sehun never even noticed he was shaking. Then a wall of fire separated the two from the group. Kyungsoo, being the closest to them, grabbed his arm and hissed in pain. Minseok and Junmyeon tried using their abilities against the flames, but more appeared. Junmyeon shifted Minseok aside and used as much power as he could. Nothing could have ever prepared them for the scene on the other side. Chanyeol’s flames licked away Baekhyun’s skin at a torturously slow pace. Baekhyun…

“Yixing! Baekhyun isn’t moving!” Sehun cried out, tears fell out of his eyes like a waterfall. Out of panic, Junmyeon turned his attack on his two younger brothers sending them both to the floor completely drenched. Yixing raced to Baekhyun, crying out when he saw the damage on his younger brother. Chanyeol seemed to realize he was also on the floor and looked around. Junmyeon looked at him with disappointment and horror.

“What have you done?” Junmyeon asked quietly.

 

 

They all saw Chanyeol look at Baekhyun and Yixing. His eyes flickered with sadness, but it quickly extinguished and anger overtook them again. Chanyeol got off the floor and stormed away, not even saying a word to the rest of them. The only person who never moved looked at Baekhyun weirdly. Kris eyed the injured boy on the floor confusedly. Chanyeol would never attack any of them like this. Something caught his eye, a glare of some sort.

“Yixing, back away.” Kris spoke firmly with authority. Junmyeon looked at him like he was crazy and Yixing ignored him completely.

“Yixing! Back away. Now.” Kris growled to their healer. Junmyeon, despite how his heart felt like it was being stabbed, Chanyeol attacked Baekhyun and now Kris was demanding Yixing to get away.

“Yixing, come here.” Junmyeon spoke calmly, hoping to reach Yixing.

“Junmyeon, he’s hurt. I can’t step away.” Yixing shook his head and looked down at Baekhyun sadly.

“Yixing, stop and look at what you’re touching.” Kris demanded softly. Yixing took a moment to look at Kris with confusion. Kyungsoo shook his head and backed away from Baekhyun.

“If he’s almost dying, why can’t we feel it?” Kyungsoo asked quietly.

Nothing in their bond warned them that one of them was in danger. Yixing looked from Kris to Kyungsoo, why couldn’t they feel it? Looking down at Baekhyun, he breath caught in his throat. Ignoring the gagging sounds from Sehun, Yixing gently grabbed a piece of skin that was still black and pulled on it. It came off easily, way too easily. Something glared underneath.

A thump came from behind him, Sehun must have fainted as he started pulling off more of the burned skin. Metal. There was metal under the skin. Yixing carefully pressed his hand on to the metal neck, he shook his head and turned him over. Someone behind him gasped, on the back of the neck black lettering made an appearance. Test Zero-Zero-Four, Property of Lee Daesuk. Yixing dropped the thing on the floor and jumped back. This must have awakened the robot as it sat up.

“Battery is overheated. Shutting Down.” Now it didn’t even sound like Baekhyun as it shut itself off. The boys, except Sehun and Jongin, looked at the bot in disbelief. This doesn’t make any sense… Baekhyun was here… right?

“We need to find a way to turn this thing on again.” Chanyeol demanded as he walked into the room.

“Why the hell would you want to turn it on again?” Minseok growled as he looked at the disgusting imposter.

“I want answers! I want to know where Baekhyun is! Don’t you?! Don’t you care that one of our brothers is missing?! Don’t you care that we were all so heartbroken with this damn thing was shot?! My pair is still in danger, I will find him and kill whoever decided it was a good idea to take him away from me.” Chanyeol’s tone sent a chill throughout the room, colder than anything Minseok could have sent out.

“Of course, I care! I’m pissed off, believe me, I am! Don’t you ever disrespect me again, understand?!” Minseok snarled back, a vein nearly popping from his neck. Seeing the elder so worked up, Chanyeol nodded.

“You’re right, I’m in the wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.” Chanyeol looked down to the ground, not wanting to see his brother’s hatred. Minseok started to calm down when he noticed frost coming from his mouth. As if wanting to make the situation worse, the robot started itself back up now that it deemed itself cool enough. As soon as the robot opened its eyes, it stood up.

“Awaiting instructions.” The monotone it used angered Chanyeol. Not wanting him to turn the robot off again Junmyeon ignored the heat flowing off of Chanyeol and pulled him to the side.

“Tell me your last mission.” Until now, Junmyeon never noticed how alike Kris and Daesuk actually were. Their voices sounded very similar.

“The latest mission given to me was to be Experiment Zero-Zero-Four. The file I was given was named ‘The Game’.” The robot answered honestly.

“The game… Where is Experiment Zero-Zero-Four?” Kris asked quickly.

“You do not have clearance for this information.” The robot stated. Before Kris could say anything, the robot turned and faced them. A glow appeared within its eyes. A projection formed in front of them.

“Hello, son. It’s so nice to see you again.” A dark chuckled froze them in their place. Before them stood the projection of Daesuk.

“That’s impossible, you’re dead.” Sehun growled from behind his older brothers.

“Ah, maybe so. In that world at least.” The man before them shrugged.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Fire consumed Chanyeol’s pupils again.

“Oh, my dear experiments… I was never there. I have been attending to other things.” The man chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“Where’s Baekhyun, you monster!” Chanyeol felt Minseok and Junmyeon attach themselves to him, calming him down and restraining him.

“As I had said before, I’ve been attending to other things. I was never there, and neither was it.” The man looked down at his clipboard and smiled.

“It’s time for this conversation to end. I look forward to seeing you all again.” Chanyeol broke free and aimed is anger at the projection. Not being able to stop himself, he set the robot on fire and destroy the connection. Steam rose from him steadily.

“If Baekhyun was never here, then he’s still on Exoplanet with Daesuk.” Sehun spoke softly.

“I think it’s time we all return home.” Junmyeon and Kris shared a look of agreement.

“Jongin, do you think you will be able to handle this?” Junmyeon asked softly.

“Our brother is in trouble, nothing will stop me from getting us there.” Jongin nodded, determination filling his eyes.

All of the boys looked at Jongin carefully, this was a tall order for the younger boy. Yixing gently grabbed Jongin’s hand and transferred energy through him. Jongin’s eyes flashed a variety of different colors as he looked for their home. A series of reds, blues, yellows, and pinks flashed through his eyes before stopping on a shimmering pearl, making his eyes look like stars. Jongin felt Kyungsoo grab the hand Yixing left alone. The bond between them got stronger as more energy flowed through him. Although they are incomplete, they all have one goal.

 

**_Baekhyun, can you hear us? It’s cold without you here. I miss your warm smile. Can you see the Red Sun? When we’re together again, we’ll all watch it together._ **

 

**_We’re so sorry, we didn’t mean to leave you alone. I should have protected you. Stay calm, but unpredictable. We Are One, how can we go on without our light beside us? Stay Strong Baekhyun._ **

 

**_We were tricked, we should have known. This won’t beat us, we will heal and rise together against the odds._ **

 

**_I_ ** **_f you were here, we’d allow you to beat us up. As shocking as it might be, we would even encourage it._ **

 

**_We deserve it. I deserve it. Can you feel the anger of the Phoenix? It misses you too._ **

 

**_Baekhyun can you feel our bond? Find comfort and strength within it._ **

 

**_Soon this nightmare will end, freedom is near._ **

 

**_We’re coming home brother, are you there waiting for us? Ease your mind little brother, we’ll be home soon._ **

 

**_I wish I could turn back time, if only we had noticed sooner._ **

 

**_Do you remember who you are? I wish I could take you away from the pain you must be feeling. I’m bringing the others home, we’ll find you._ **

 

**_When I was younger; I couldn’t control my ability, but still you worked with me day and night. Do you remember when I could eventually control a small breeze? I don’t know if you remember when we were on the run, I don’t know if that was even you… But you told me something then. As long as we have family, nothing would be able to break us apart. I hope you still believe that._ **

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Can you hear me?**

**I suppose not. Is it bad that I hope you are all happy?**

**Even if you could hear me, I would tell you all to run.**

**There’s nothing left.**

**I can’t remember what this place used to look like.**

**It seems as though it’s getting dark soon.**

**My light is fading, as light does over time. **

**I’m afraid of the dark but for all of you, I would face it over and over again.**

**If you can hear me; leave me.**

**It hurts too much, I can’t continue much longer.**

**Don’t come home.**

**Please…**


	30. You're Out of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter includes explicit violence, explicit language, physical torture, mental torture, kidnapping, impersonation, character death, mentions of revolution. If I missed a tag, please let me know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is here. Thank you all for reading this story, thank you for the comments and the kudos'! I hope you enjoyed this story.

_“This isn’t right. I’m not getting the results I want.” Daesuk slammed the results against his desk._

_“What would you like to do sir?” The robotic voice started to annoy him._

_“Get the kids.” Daesuk waves the robot away._

_“We have a deal with the older ones, we are not allowed to take the kids for testing.” It reminded him._

_“You work for me, I will not repeat myself.” Daesuk grabbed his lab coat and headed toward the testing rooms._

_As he walked down the hall, he ignored all of the screams from their room. He never cared about their “deal”, but it made the older one's complaint. He needed results. One of those monsters is related to him. In order to create a normal son, he needed results. He should have known they wouldn’t take this lightly. A couple weeks later they made their escape. They ran into the maze, unknowingly making his job easier. He made the maze for this exact purpose. No matter where they ran, he would know every turn. Maybe the boys were on to something, maybe a change of scenery was needed. As soon as they thought they were safe, he releases sleeping gas into the room. They would stay asleep for a while, he ordered the robots to tie them up and to bring experiment Zero-Zero-Four to him._

_Experiment Zero-Zero-Four couldn’t leave with the rest. He was still needed. Although all the boys are powerful, Experiment Zero-Zero-Four was the most useful. He was more in control than Experiment Zero-Two-One and Experiment Zero-Six-One. But the others wouldn’t allow this. How could he hide it from the other experiments? One of the robot nurses walked in and he had his answer. He could make another one bot and send it with the experiments. Daesuk demanded that half of the experiments be removed and placed in another room before they are sent off._

_As he waited for the boys to awaken, the process for building another experiment Zero-zero-four began. A few hours later one of the nurses walked in and informed him that the boys were awakening. He walked into the room, he put a cage in there for show not that they would know the difference. Daesuk loved that they were in pain as they woke up, he may or may not have told the nurses to hurt them a little bit. Experiment Zero-zero-one was the first one to become coherent._

_“W-Where are they?” The experiment asked in a hoarse voice._

_“I can’t tell you that.” Daesuk chuckled._

_“You must find the missing few together, this game won’t end until all twelve are reunited. You have a time span of 5 years. When your time is up, starting from the youngest, you will all forget your past lives and each other.” He spoke loudly, hoping to wake the others as well._

_“What are you talking about, what game?” The monster he called a son growled from in front of him._

_“I wish you all good luck, do not disappoint me.” Once again, he opened the capsules around the room allowing the sleeping gas from the corners of the room. He chuckled as they began to suffer and opened the cage to stand in front of experiment Zero-zero-one._

_“It all begins with you.” Then he left to continue working on the robot look alike._

_Using the sleeping gas allowed him time to continue building the look alike. Soon enough the robot was built, and it was ready to go. Daesuk received permission to move the experiments for testing back to Earth. He kept Experiment Zero-zero-four unconscious while he was away. He stayed on Earth for a month and created another robot, one that looks like himself. Daesuk kept the boy’s unconscious while he created new lives for them. He slowly implemented new memories while they slept. Daesuk gave the nurses specific instructions and left when everything started going correctly._

_Was it a risk leaving the boys in the custody of robots? Yeah, it was. It was definitely a risk he was willing to take. After all, they are just monsters. He has the one he needs back in his workplace. When he returned to Exoplanet, the destruction began. The military he brought with him began changing the planet, the people began to fight. The fight was quickly won, and the plans were put into action. One thing they misunderstood was the jobs of the citizens. They demanded everyone “give up” their powers. No one was allowed to use their abilities from then on._

_A few months later, the planet started dying. Daesuk then learned the Tree of Life only supplied life to the world based on the energy of the people. The happiness of the people and the equality of their abilities. It all contributed to the life of the planet. Before Daesuk and his crew came, the planet was already suffering because of the separation of the people._

_Now, the death of the planet started to accelerate. As Daesuk watched the planet around him die, a thought hit him. The main reason the balance is incomplete is due to the Soleans not being allowed to control the Red Suns. The two Suns need to be subdued in order for the planet to be habitable. Otherwise, the Red Sun starts killing off people who are not used to high temperatures. Daesuk thought of an idea, but how was he going to pull it off?_

 

 

 

Jongin closed his eyes and channeled the energy he was receiving from his brothers. When he opened his eyes, all he felt was despair. His legs collapsed below him, soon enough the others followed. Traveling long distances took its toll on Jongin, but for the others, it was the dizziness and sick feeling they receive from traveling through time and space. He looked around as he panted heavily. He brought them to the place he remembered, his home Sector 11 also known as Tempes.

Each Sector has a color that represented them. Tempes’ representative color is black to honor their ability of Travel through time and space. It was completely ruined. If he didn’t feel a sense of calmness and the warm feeling of seeing his home, he would have never guessed this was Tempes. A place filled with happiness and energy was empty now. From what he could remember, Tempes was filled with beautiful obsidian colored buildings. The Red Suns shined brightly against the mineral making it look like a landscape filled with obsidian colored diamonds.

The streets of Tempes were created with beautiful black moonstone. Most of their plant life included naturally growing mysterious Helleborus (Onyx Odyssey), Calla Lily (Black Star), Black Mondo Grass, and Black Maple Trees. Jongin always thought it was strange that the Maple trees are the only plant life that retained a different color. Now as he looked around the landscape, his heart snapped. The once beautiful streets turned into a dull dark gray. The once gorgeous plant life wilted creating a plant life graveyard. The buildings were demolished, shards of obsidian stone littering the ground without a shimmer.

 _Without a shimmer?_ Jongin looked up at the sky and the shock of everything seemed to keep getting worse. The Red Suns turned from a scarlet red to a dull brick red. Turning his gaze back to the streets, the people of Tempes were nowhere to be seen. As he looked at the destruction around him, he forgot his brothers were also present.

“Jongin…” Junmyeon’s voice coming from his right startled him.

Turning to the others, he saw the devastation in their eyes. An important question filling their minds. If this is what’s become of Tempes, what happened to their home? What happened to Exoplanet? Despite Jongin feeling heartbroken, he knew the only way this could be fixed is through action. He turned to Junmyeon and tried to keep his voice level.

“What do we do?” Junmyeon noticed the younger boy was ready to start crying, he quickly suggested they go to the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life was the only place that was exempt from the Sectors as it lived in the safely between the borders. Jongin took a deep breath and nodded. The brother’s grabbed hands again and in a flash, they were gone.

 

 

 

Daesuk chuckled as he watched the security cameras placed in Tempes. These seemed to be predictable. The only place Jongin would have wanted to see first, would, of course, be his home. Now he assumed they were going to the Tree of Life. They didn’t surprise him anymore. Daesuk wasn’t afraid, they weren’t powerful enough to hurt their progress without all twelve of them being together. He turned away from the screens and grabbed his lab coat. Walking down the steel hallway, he stopped outside of a room labeled 004 in a crimson font. Before walking in, he grabbed his clipboard that rested outside of the room. He smiled evilly and walked in.

 

 

 

If they were shocked when they saw Tempes, nothing could have prepared them for the Tree of Life. Just like the plant life in Tempes, the Tree was wilting rapidly right in front of their eyes. Yixing rushed toward the Tree, ignoring the calls of his name. A tear fell from his eyes as he gently placed his hands on the Tree. He flinched originally, the Tree was so cold, so void of life. He remembered being younger and hearing stories of the Tree.

He was so fascinated by such a powerful life force. He always dreamed of visiting the Tree sometime in his life. He never thought he would see it wilting. Yixing tried to use his abilities to help ease the Tree, but nothing changed. He didn’t hear the others coming up from behind him. A hand placed itself gently on his shoulder, small pluses came from it as the owner continued being upset. Jongdae hated seeing his brother’s sad, but how could they feel anything else? Their planet was literally dying. They all knew the possibility of the planet dying could be true ever since Daesuk started the experiments, but they were all hoping that they were wrong.

Yixing sniffled softly as he looked at the Tree, something was off. Despite the feeling of death coming off the Tree, there was a strange pulse of energy there as well. Yixing closed his eyes and followed the pulses through the trunk, branches, and remaining leaves. Confusion took over as he followed the pulses to the roots. Small parasite-like creatures attached themselves to the start of the roots. The small creatures were connected to some sort of current that traveled through the surface.

“Jongdae put your hands on the Tree.” Yixing demanded with his eyes closed. Jongdae carefully placed his own hands on the Tree, feeling energy pulses running through the roots of the Tree and throughout the rest of it.

“Jongdae, can you follow the current?” Yixing asked quietly.

“Yeah, give me a second.” Jongdae whispered back softly.

Jongdae opened his eyes slowly, a warm golden glow came from them. He could no longer see his surroundings, instead, he looked through the current and followed it carefully. After a few minutes of following the current underground, it broke through the surface. It turned into currents running through cables. He couldn’t see the surrounding area, he could only follow the current to its source.

His heart rate picked up quickly as he followed the pulses. Something was wrong about this current, something about it was unnaturally forced. The cables attached themselves to a steel table. They were connected to metal pieces acting as restraints. Jongdae closed his eyes and opened them again quickly, he looked at Luhan and grabbed his hand.

“Can you see the surrounding area if I lead you there? I can’t see anything but the currents and what they’re attached to.” Jongdae asked desperately.

“Yeah, just help lead me there.” Luhan nodded quickly.

The contrasting colors of gold and silver glowed from the two of them. Luhan followed Jongdae through the currents, through his eyes. Although Jongdae could only see the currents, he could see the surroundings. The metal pieces that Jongdae thought were restraints are exactly that. Luhan’s eyes widened as he looked at the person being restrained. A person sickeningly pale laid there with shallow breaths.

Black hair thinning at an alarming pace. Sickeningly thin, cheeks shrunken, this person is disappearing at the seams. Looking closer, Luhan almost didn’t recognize him. _Baekhyun._ Luhan’s eyes widened as tears fell from them. Their brother was fading, while they had lived on Earth, while they were trying to find each other, Baekhyun was here fading away.

“This is impossible…” Luhan whispered.

“What’s happening, where are these currents coming from?” Jongdae asked quietly. Luhan looked around the room their brother was in, the ceiling was transparent.

The Red Suns energy was drawn to this room by man-made solar panels. The solar panels were connected to the cables. The cables underneath the restraints, that they were also attached to, took the appearance of IV’s. Instead of helping the person it was attached to, it was taking from the boy instead of giving. His ability was being used against him.

Luhan looked over his brother again, his eyes were open. A white glow came from them as he slowly blinked. It was clear that Baekhyun was no longer aware of his surroundings. Luhan’s own heart rate started to pick up as he realized throughout this time, Baekhyun’s breathing got slower. Luhan ripped himself and Jongdae from the currents and gripped his hand when his legs shook. All this time, Baekhyun was being used and tortured for a man’s sick pleasure.

“What did you see?” Junmyeon asked quickly, he helped Luhan steady himself.

“Daesuk, he’s using Baekhyun… He’s using Baekhyun to keep the Tree alive, to keep the planet alive.” Luhan's voice shook.

“What exactly do you mean?” Kris asked quickly.

“He’s using Baekhyun as his main power source. He’s killing Baekhyun.” Luhan looked around to the others quickly.

Chanyeol was no longer listening. His pair was being killed in his own home. The Phoenix screeched within him. Beside him, Jongdae vibrated with anger as well. The three of them were close in age and personality, hearing that Baekhyun suffered while they stood here angered them both. The Phoenix burned within him angerly. If he was anyone else, his eyes and his pendant would have given third-degree burns.

“Luhan, do you know if he’s in Soleis?” Chanyeol asked carefully, fear crawled down Sehun’s spine as he feared Chanyeol’s tone.

“I can hardly tell the difference between Soleis and Tempes anymore. But, it had a small trace of tranquility. I think he’s in Soleis.” Luhan nodded quickly.

“Does anybody notice that there’s no one around?” Kyungsoo looked down from the hill they stood on. From the Hill, you could see the Sectors. No one was around.

“I wouldn’t stick around either, did you see the Tempes?” Jongin asked quietly.

“But people don’t just disappear…” Kyungsoo kneeled down and placed his palm on the ground. There was no trace of living things, even animals were completely gone.

“They probably went into hiding. Do you remember the safe places when the crazy people tried to get rid of the Tree? Maybe they’re just hiding from the Red Force. Seeing the destruction, they created those in power probably demanded the people go into hiding.” Sehun shook his head slowly.

“What are we going to do? We’ll have to face them alone…” Yixing looked at the Tree sadly. Something that was supposed to be full of Life and helped the planet hope for a peaceful life, was being powered by his younger brother’s life force. Originally, the people of Soleis helped with the overbearing force of the Red Suns and turned it into healthy energy for the people of Exoplanet. They never powered the Tree, they simply helped the people that couldn’t handle the harsh temperatures and created an equal chance for the abilities to be fairly represented and allows them to live peacefully. To see one Solean powering the whole planet, alone. This would have angered them, but to know that it was their brother it made them furious.

“We need a plan-“ Junmyeon was cut off as Chanyeol’s temperature skyrocketed.

“We don’t have time for a plan. Baekhyun is dying as we speak!” Chanyeol growled.

“Chanyeol is right, we need to act.” Jongdae stood next to Chanyeol strongly.

“We can come up with a plan later, right now Baekhyun is dying. I can feel it, and I know you can feel it too.” Chanyeol spoke softly as he looked at Junmyeon. He couldn’t win this argument, Junmyeon could see that.

“Alright, let’s get Baekhyun.” Junmyeon would rather all of them be together instead of some going to get Baekhyun and the others staying behind to come up with a plan to help their dying planet.

 

 

 

Daesuk knew they would come eventually. He found their ability to know when another is hurting. He knew they wouldn’t be able to stay away. He figured that Experiment Zero-Zero-Seven or Experiment Zero-Two-One have figured out where the currents were coming from. Daesuk decided that he should let them have their moment. He knew he was in trouble when the experiments get here all hell will break loose. Daesuk already knows this to be true. So, while they made their way down, he made his way to the Tree with a different path.

 

 

 

Chanyeol grabbed Jongin and Jongdae tightly and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the first thing he heard was Minseok gasping with horror. Soleis was a place of peace and tranquility. The atmosphere plummeted into the core of the planet. Now as they look across the land, it was unrecognizable. This place was the main battleground. Their place of optimism and serenity was completely destroyed.

The buildings that were once made of stunning white, star sapphire stone skyscrapers were turned into a depressing sight of ruins covered in crimson red liquid. The smell of copper and iron assaulted their nostrils. The once striking white opal streets where ripped from the ground. The once pristine Whitebark Pine was nowhere to be seen. Stunning Scabiosas, Hibiscus’, and white hydrangeas were wilted and drenched in the same crimson liquid that covered the ruined skyscrapers. This place was so bright that it hurt your eyes to look at it for too long, now it hurts because death surrounded everything.

The Phoenix cried and shrieked inside of Chanyeol as it saw the destruction through the Lavarians eyes. They looked at the center of Soleis with anger rising within them. The only thing left standing was a crimson skyscraper made from the rubble of the buildings around it. Jongin angrily transported them in the back of the building. Kyungsoo cracked his knuckles and made his own door for them. The boys rushed in, they thought they would have to find the room Baekhyun was in on their own. It seemed Daesuk decided to lead them to him but leaving the cables in the open. Luhan took the lead along with Jongdae. Both leaned down and touched the cables carefully, these cables would lead them to Baekhyun. They were the same cables that were embedded into the roots of the Tree.

Chanyeol didn’t wait for the rest, once Luhan and Jongdae confirmed where the cables were leading he took off. There was no time to wait. Chanyeol bolted down the steel halls, ignoring the smell of antibiotics and sterilizing cleaning products. The cables led him to a gray door lined in crimson. Chanyeol ripped open the door and he stopped. His breath was stolen from him as he walked into the room. Baekhyun’s glowing white eyes were losing their intensity.

Chanyeol slowly walked over to his brother. As if sensing his pair, Baekhyun moved his unseeing eyes to where Chanyeol stood. He tried to lift his hand slightly, as far as the restraints would allow him, to where he felt Chanyeol’s presence. Chanyeol rushed forward, he reached his own hand out and gently held Baekhyun’s fragile one. He was afraid of breaking Baekhyun more. Baekhyun tried to speak, but nothing came out. Chanyeol turned to Kyungsoo, now noticing the others caught up to him.

“C-Can you remove these?” Chanyeol’s voice broke as he pointed at the disgusting restraints. Baekhyun could never hurt a fly, to see him like this killed Chanyeol. Kyungsoo moved forward and gently grabbed ahold of the restraints and crushed them in his grasp. Once they were removed Chanyeol gently held on to Baekhyun’s delicate hands. He gently removed the imposter IV’s from his pair, Baekhyun didn’t even flinch.

“Cha-nie…” Baekhyun whispered softly.

“We’re here Baek, I’m here.” Chanyeol answered softly.

“Please, ta-ke me to our pl-place.” Baekhyun looked at him desperately.

“Okay, okay stay calm Baek.” Chanyeol leaned down and carefully lifted Baekhyun from the bed. Baekhyun placed his head against Chanyeol’s chest, he missed the natural warmth that came from his pair. Baekhyun’s weak arms wrapped around Chanyeol neck and he listened to the calming heartbeat and smiled a sad, heartbreaking smile and he closed his eyes.

“Jongin, please take us to the border of Soleis and Lavar.” Chanyeol asked softly.

The boys held on to each other and closed their eyes. When they opened them again they were in a place they’ve never seen before, except for two. Chanyeol walked away from the group and over to a certain place in the dying field. A part of Chanyeol was happy that Baekhyun couldn’t see the scene around them. The others stayed back, although they wanted to be close to their brother this was something the pair had to do alone. Chanyeol gently placed Baekhyun in their favorite spot. Right in the middle of the bordered field. He sat down and allowed Baekhyun to bury himself into him.

“Cha-nie, isn’t it b-beautiful?” Baekhyun smiled sadly as he held on as tightly as he could to Chanyeol.

“Yeah.” Chanyeol knew that Baekhyun could hear the lie in his voice.

“It may not look as it o-once did, but this place w-will always be my favorite. This is w-where we found out we were p-pairs.” Baekhyun shook his head and rested it against Chanyeol’s chest again. Chanyeol held the other close, carefully not wanting to hurt the other.

“Baekhyun I need to call Yixing over, okay? You’re hurt.” Chanyeol rested his head on top of Baekhyun gently.

“N-no, I’m afraid he c-can’t help me now. I’m f-fading.” Baekhyun’s voice was no louder than a whisper, but it sounded like he was screaming.

“Don’t say that, you’ll be alright. We’ll fight together.” Chanyeol whispered back.

He turned slightly and looked at Yixing desperately. Yixing rushed over and gently placed his hands on Baekhyun’s face. The other didn’t even acknowledge Yixing’s presence. Yixing put his all into healing Baekhyun, but after a few moments he placed his hand over his mouth and shook his head. With eyes closed tight, he stood up and walked away. He didn’t make it very far, Sehun ran to his pair when he collapsed. Seeing Yixing cry, made the situation all the more real. Baekhyun was fading, they ran out of time.

“You h-have to stay strong Baek. We’re here, we’re all together.” Chanyeol tried to keep his tears at bay as he spoke with authority, trying to make it sound like an order.

“Then let us all watch the Red Suns together, one last time.” Baekhyun whispered softly. The other boys walked slowly up to the pair and sat down behind them. All sitting with their pairs, they watched the Red Suns like Baekhyun requested.

“C-Can you sing for me, Chan-nie?” Baekhyun’s eyes started to droop. Chanyeol gently started to hum Baekhyun’s favorite song, the one his mother used to sing when he was little.

“Thank you...” Baekhyun whispered with a smile.

With the sound of Chanyeol humming, the friendly warmth coming from him, and the steady sound of his heartbeat, Baekhyun allowed his eyes to flutter closed. With Chanyeol holding him, Baekhyun slipped into an eternal rest. Chanyeol froze when ice scratched down his spine painfully. He held Baekhyun tightly and screamed from the bottom of his soul as Baekhyun’s heart stopped. The Phoenix within him screeched and shrieked, its talons clawed against Chanyeol’s mind as it tried to get to its other half. Lava-like tears disobeyed Chanyeol as they rushed away from the safety of his eyes.

His throat bled as he continued to scream under the Red Suns, in Baekhyun’s favorite place. Chanyeol held Baekhyun tightly. He kissed the top of the Solean’s head as his tears drenched the other. Chanyeol shivered as he buried Baekhyun’s cold, lifeless face against his warm neck. Maybe if he could keep Baekhyun warm, Baekhyun wouldn’t leave. Baekhyun hated being cold. As time passed Chanyeol’s lifeless eyes rose from Baekhyun’s body. He gently moved Baekhyun slightly, ignoring the way his head lifelessly lolled away from him, very gently he removed Baekhyun’s pendant from his neck.

On Exoplanet, if a pair died the living pair took the pendant of the deceased to signify that even though the other left this world they would never abandon the living half of their pair. Very lightly Chanyeol placed Baekhyun’s head on the disgusting dead grass underneath them. Chanyeol removed his jacket and placed it upon Baekhyun ice cold body. The Solean’s pendant shimmered in the sunlight and he took a step back. Sensing the death, light rose around the Solean. The other boys had to look away from the light as it burned their eyes.

Not Chanyeol, he watched as the gentle lights wrapped around Baekhyun until nothing was left, not even Chanyeol’s jacket. He stood there and looked at the space. As soon as Baekhyun left, rage consumed him. He reached around and placed Baekhyun’s pendant around his own neck. Fire consumed him, lava-like tears stopped falling as he turned around.

The fire in his eyes transferred energy to the rest of his brothers. Now is not the time to grieve. Now is the time to act. Jongin grabbed the rest of the brothers and went to the place he felt Daesuk was hiding, no doubt Baekhyun was telling him where to go. Sure, enough Daesuk stood in front of the Tree of Life, now without its power source started wilting quicker.

“Welcome home boys, did you enjoy your little vacation.” Daesuk turned to face them.

“How dare you stand here, on our home.” Junmyeon spat toward the thing in front of them.

“You are simply realizing that you are monsters. Experiment Zero-zero-four was a monster and he paid the price.” Daesuk shrugged his shoulders and smiled happily.

“You’re the monster! He never hurt a fly, and he had a name. His name was Baekhyun, you horrible excuse for a man!” Chanyeol screamed at the thing in front of him.

“Ah, it seems you are not ready to submit Experiment Zero-six-one.” Daesuk pulled out a remote from his lab coat.

The ground began to shake, they turned to Kyungsoo who simply shook his head in response. An army of his robots appeared around them. They were surrounded from all sides. They could hear Daesuk laughing sickly behind his own cowardice. Chanyeol held on to Baekhyun’s pendant. It was time to fight, for their home, for their future, for Baekhyun. As his brothers held on to each other tightly, Chanyeol knew they were all thinking the same thing. With a roar filled with grief, anger, and purpose the brothers rushed forward and used their abilities for justice.

Chanyeol took on the form of his Phoenix and attacked with the strength of himself and Baekhyun by his side. It was time for morality, justice, and liberation. Daesuk was both right and wrong. They are monsters against the evil in which he ruled. The fear he used against their people, they are monsters against his actions. But he was also wrong. They weren’t out of time, they were just beginning. Daesuk is out of time.  


End file.
